![Iran Begins State Funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei Amid Mourning and Anti-American Chants]](https://i2.wp.com/images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_720,w_1280/728244?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "Iran Begins State Funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei Amid Mourning and Anti-American Chants]")
Iran Begins State Funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei Amid Mourning and Anti-American Chants]
Iran has launched mass funeral processions for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death in February marked the first airstrike from the ongoing conflict between the US and Israel. The ceremonies underscore the Islamic Republic’s commitment to its revolutionary ideals and theocratic governance.
State television broadcast footage showing Khamenei’s coffin draped in the Iranian flag and crowned with his signature black turban. The coffin, along with four other slain family members, rested on a large black platform resembling the Kaaba at Islam’s holiest site in Mecca.
The expansive courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla hosted thousands of mourners waving Iranian flags and clutching photographs of the former leader.
“Death to America” chants filled Tehran’s Mosalla during the farewell ceremony for “Mr. Martyr,” according to state broadcaster Seda va Sima.
Additional state media footage captured mourners shouting, “Our slogan is one word: Revenge, revenge,” and “We will kill, we will kill he who killed our Imam.”
Water misting systems cooled mourners amid summer heat as Khamenei’s coffin remained at the Mosalla through Sunday evening. The coffin will travel to Qom, Najaf, and Kerbala—central hubs of Shia Islam in Iran and Iraq—before final burial on Thursday in Mashhad, home to the country’s most sacred pilgrimage shrine.
During Thursday’s unveiling, sobbing supporters swayed and beat their heads in synchronized mourning while flowers were thrown onto the bier. On Friday, the coffin lay in state within the grand prayer hall honoring Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Organizers anticipate mobilizing millions across upcoming processions, arranging transportation, meals, and lodging to maximize turnout.
The newly appointed supreme leader, Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, has not appeared publicly since sustaining injuries in the strike that killed his father.
