Iran Strikes Killed Khamenei as Tehran Hosts Millions at His Funeral Procession

Iran has begun a week of funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at age 86 in a joint U.S. and Israeli airstrike on February 28 that marked the start of a regional war triggered by the Iran strikes.

Khamenei's Death in U.S.-Israeli Strike

The supreme leader was killed during joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran in late February, precipitating a major regional war in the following months. [3] That site was destroyed in the airstrike that killed Khamenei and some of his family at the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28. [1] Authorities expect public mourning and grand processions to attract millions before Khamenei’s burial next week, four months after the 86-year-old leader was killed at his compound on February 28, the first day of a joint United States-Israeli war on Iran. [5] The funeral was scheduled for March, but was delayed due to the war on Iran. [5] The former Ayatollah's body is currently lying in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla, ahead of his burial in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday. [3]

Funeral Processions and Mourning in Tehran

Iran began a days-long funeral Saturday for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at age 86 in a joint U.S. and Israeli airstrike months earlier. [1] Authorities unveiled the casket containing Khamenei’s body in a glass case at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran’s capital. [1] Mourners wept at the sight, with some chanting: “Our word is one! Revenge! Revenge!” [1] Crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals. [1] An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. [1] The caskets of his dead family members sat beneath his, which had his black turban atop it, identifying him as a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad. [1] Iran’s government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. [1] Organizers sprayed water on the crowds and offered cold drinks to help people cope with the summer heat. [1] More than 10 million people are gathering in Tehran for the funeral of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war in February. [2] Iranian authorities said 12 to 20 million people were expected to attend the ceremonies, which are part of what they are calling the "funeral of the century". [3] Footage showed Khamenei's coffin, bearing the colours of the Islamic Republic, being carried aloft at the Grand Mosalla on Friday. [3] Khamenei's body will lie in the Grand Mosalla for three days, alongside the remains of family members who were also killed in the US and Israeli strikes in February. [3] Mohammad Rasulullah Corps commander Hassan Hassanzadeh said Khamenei's coffin would be displayed on an elevated platform, with crowd flows designed to allow visitors to enter and leave within 15 to 20 minutes. [3] Authorities have ordered public and private offices in Tehran to close from Saturday through Monday, while traffic restrictions will shut down most of the city centre to private vehicles. [3] The airspace over Tehran was partially closed on Friday and will be fully closed on Monday. [3] On Friday, the mourners, identified by the state media as relatives of those killed in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against Khamenei’s coffin, a practice seen as a blessing in Iran. [5] The casket was draped with a flag, with white calligraphy on it reading: “Ya Hussein” – a Shia expression in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. [5] In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei’s fist could be seen in banners and in a giant statue in Enghelab Square, framed by what appeared to be ballistic missiles flying through the air. [5]

Millions of mourners attend Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral procession in Tehran. — Source: thenewarab

Route of Ceremonies Across Iran and Iraq

There will be an official funeral ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, which the Tehran-based Mohammad Rasulullah Corps is leading, as part of six days of ceremonies. [3] On Tuesday, events will move to Qom, just south of Tehran, where a senior Shia cleric will lead funeral prayers at Jamkaran - one of Iran's most prominent and symbolic religious sites. [3] Khamenei's body will then travel to Najaf in Iraq on Wednesday. [3] Following a procession at the shrine of Imam Ali, Shia Islam's first imam, ceremonies will continue in Karbala before the body returns to Iran. [3] Iranian officials say the Iraq events follow requests from Iraqi groups, with some analysts seeing them as representative of Khamenei's influence across the Shia Muslim world and Iran's religious and political ties across the region. [3] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Baghdad to coordinate the arrangements, saying the funeral had a "symbolic importance". [3] On Thursday, Khamenei will be buried in the city of his birth, Mashhad, at the Imam Reza Shrine, the mausoleum of Shia Islam's eighth imam and Iran's most important pilgrimage site, which attracts millions of visitors each year. [3] Ceremonies will continue across the country for 40 days, with commemorative events planned until the first anniversary of Khamenei's burial. [3] Iranian authorities expect millions of people to flood the streets of Tehran starting Saturday, in scenes reminiscent of the 1989 funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, attended by an estimated 10 million people. [5] Atas said the authorities expect a higher turnout this year. [5] “When you look at the symbolism of the places — of course, Tehran is the seat of power in the country — but the city of Qom is the religious centre, where most of the clerics are being educated. They say at least two million people there are expected to attend,” he said. [5] “Then, of course, Iraq, Najaf and Karbala are extremely important cities for Shia Islam. The final leg of this funeral is going to be Mashhad, which hosts the tomb of the eighth imam of Shia Islam … Also, Mashhad is the birthplace of the supreme leader,” he added. [5]

Attendance by Iranian Officials and International Delegations

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian was among those paying their respects after the coffin was placed at the vast religious complex. [3] State TV broadcast footage of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian paying his respects at Khamenei’s coffin, alongside the parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. [5] Ahmad Vahidi, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the Iranian military, also made his first appearance since the start of the war. [5] Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has mediated peace talks between the US and Iran, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and the Afghan Taliban's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi were in attendance. [3] Representatives from Iraq, Armenia, Turkey and several Gulf states – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman among them, have also arrived for the processions. [3] Many world leaders are also attending the six days of commemoration, with a public ceremony scheduled on Saturday in Tehran, followed by a procession through holy cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq. [5] Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said the government has not invited several European countries to the funeral, and the “attendees were mostly from either neutral or friendly states”. [5] “According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, so far more than 50 delegations have already paid their respects to Iran’s late supreme leader,” he said, naming the presidents of Iraq, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, as well as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. [5] “Iranians are saying they did not extend invitations to European countries or those who have directly, or indirectly, supported the Israeli and American military campaign on Iran,” Atas said. [5]

Iran begins public mourning for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in February airstrike. — Source: myjoyonline

Regional Tensions and Ceasefire Context

It comes as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire after signing a preliminary deal to halt their conflict in June. [3] Speaking on Friday night in the US, President Donald Trump acknowledged the week of mourning taking place in Iran, adding that the country was "dying to settle" as negotiations to end the war continue. [3] "We gave them [Iran] a week off for a funeral because we're nice," he told a crowd gathered at Mount Rushmore for his address on the eve of 4 July celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. [3] Millions gather in Tehran for Khamenei's funeral; Iran warns UK, France over Hormuz. [2] U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz scolded Iran during this week's UN Security Council meeting, saying Tehran "will not silence" the body following claims by the Islamic Republic's representative that council members were spreading falsehoods about its recent attack targeting neighboring Gulf states. [4] Waltz's remarks came during an emergency meeting of the council in response to drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday following new U.S. airstrikes against Iran. [4] During his remarks, Iravani argued that the council should not have met, while accusing the U.S., Bahrain and other members of lying. [4] "Once again, the representative of the United States has resorted to lies and disinformation against Iran in a desperate attempt to justify the US's unlawful acts of aggression," Iravani said. [4] Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement. [4] On June 27, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, after Iran violated the deal. [4]

Succession and Political Symbolism

Khamenei was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader. [3] Key questions around the ceremony centre on whether Mojtaba will attend the funeral. [3] Last week, secretary of the organising committee, Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, said any decision on Mojtaba's attendance would be announced by the offices of the armed forces commander-in-chief and the supreme leader. [3] Questions also remain about who will lead the funeral prayer, as in Shia tradition the role carries religious and political significance. [3] Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran, told Al Jazeera the funeral is taking place at a critical moment for Iran, which is projecting the event as a “display of unity” that carries a message for the US and Israel. [5] “Following the assassination of the supreme leader, the government did not fall but became stronger,” he said. [5] “What the US and Israel did backfired. They wanted to bring about regime change in the country, but what actually happened created a rally around the flag.” [5]

What to watch next: Ongoing negotiations to end the war continue under the fragile ceasefire, with further exchanges possible at the UN Security Council over regional attacks.