Months after the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader at the outset of its war with the United States and Israel, a multi‑day funeral and burial will be held for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
During the mourning period, Khamenei’s body will be transported through cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Tehran’s theocratic government is expected to mobilize the public, government employees, and paramilitary forces to fill the streets in his honor.
Khamenei, who led Iran for nearly four decades, was killed on February 28 during a joint U.S.–Israeli strike that marked the start of the war. The ceremony had been postponed while hostilities continued.
The funeral is widely seen as a litmus test for Iran’s weakened theocracy, gauging its ability to rally mass support just six months after a violent government crackdown on nationwide protests opposing Khamenei’s leadership.
However, a massive turnout carries the risk of deadly stampedes. A similar incident marred the funeral of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
A fragile ceasefire, reinforced by an interim agreement with the United States, has emboldened officials to plan the ceremony and allow senior figures to appear publicly. Israel has used public appearances to locate and target senior leaders throughout the conflict.
It remains uncertain whether Khamenei’s son, designated as Iran’s next Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his debut appearance. Mojtaba is believed to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father and has been in hiding.
Key details of the funeral, scheduled for Saturday in Tehran, are as follows:
Khamenei’s body will be on public display at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday it will be paraded through Tehran before being taken to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, where it will be honored on Tuesday.
On Wednesday the remains will be transported to Karbala, Iraq, the site of Imam Hussein’s shrine, a location steeped in symbolic significance for Shia Muslims. Wednesday also coincides with the anniversary of the protests against Khamenei’s rule.
Finally, the body will be brought to Mashhad, Iran’s second‑largest city, where authorities say Khamenei will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine. Imam Reza is the eighth imam of Shia Islam, and the shrine draws millions of pilgrims each year; a hadith teaches that visiting brings relief from sorrow and sin. Many prominent Shia clerics, including former President Ebrahim Raisi (killed in a 2024 helicopter crash), are interred there.
The burial of Khomeini on June 6, 1989, drew millions to the streets. The event quickly descended into chaos as mourners surged toward the casket, causing the 86‑year‑old leader’s body to tumble into the crowd. At least eight people were killed and roughly 11,000 injured.
Given the potential for millions of participants, authorities fear a similar stampede could occur during Khamenei’s funeral. The 2020 burial of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani resulted in at least 56 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries in a comparable crush.
The interim June agreement created a 60‑day window to negotiate a final deal ending the Iran war, covering issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz. Technical talks began this week in Qatar but have been hampered by deep disagreements and intermittent cross‑fire between the U.S. and Iran over the strait’s future.
