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Enormous crowds gather in Tehran for third day to mourn as authorities and Khamenei’s supporters call for revenge against the US and Israel.
Published On 6 Jul 2026
The funeral procession for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei commenced in Tehran on Monday, with authorities praising the government’s resilience during the U.S.-Israel conflict and vowing retribution for his assassination.
After lying in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, Khamenei’s body began a 12-hour journey through the capital, accompanied by vast crowds of mourners.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in an air strike on February 28, the opening day of the war, after nearly 37 years of rule.
Mourners congregated in Imam Hussein Square in eastern Tehran, where they hanged an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to state media. Others carried placards depicting U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bearing the words: “There will be blood.”
Thousands filled the Grand Mosalla on Sunday to pay their respects. Also on display were the remains of Khamenei’s daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and 14-month-old granddaughter, all killed alongside him.
Beyond laying Khamenei to rest, Iranian authorities are using the weeklong funeral ceremonies to project resilience during the ceasefire with the United States.
Parliament speaker and chief U.S. negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf hailed on social media the “proud and invincible nation of Islamic Iran” for unanimously paying tribute to its “martyr.”
Monday’s procession will be followed by similar events in the clerical hub of Qom on Tuesday and in Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, culminating in Khamenei’s burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.
Three of Khamenei’s sons made a rare public appearance at the funeral on Sunday, further highlighting the absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named supreme leader shortly after his father’s killing but has yet to appear publicly. Officials have said he was wounded in the same air strikes, though the severity of his injuries remains unclear.
While Iranian authorities have sought to present a united front, none of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s surviving predecessors—who had tense relations with Khamenei—have been seen at the ceremonies.
The U.S.-Israel war on Iran has been paused during the ceasefire with Washington. Both capitals have warned they are prepared to resume military action, and vengeance has been a dominant theme throughout the weeklong ceremonies.
Iran’s army chief, Major General Amir Hatami, pledged an unwavering pursuit of justice. “Those who committed this crime must know that the nation of Iran and all of us will never cease in our pursuit of and demand for justice,” Hatami said, according to state-run Press TV.
“The killers [of Khamenei] must face punishment,” a 38-year-old man who gave his surname as Miremadi told the AFP news agency at Sunday’s prayers.
Khamenei long pursued a confrontational course with the West. For years, Tehran has provided support to anti-U.S. and anti-Israel armed groups across the Middle East, including Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, both of which sent delegations to the ceremonies.
