Crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran begins day-long funeral ceremonies
Hundreds of thousands of mourners began a day-long funeral on Saturday for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s late supreme leader, beating his chest in grief before the glass case that held his coffin in Tehran and demanding revenge from Israel and the United States.
Khamenei ruled Iran for decades before he was killed at the age of 86 in a February 28 airstrike at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The funeral could provide a boost to the country’s secular government and its new leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
That is important as Iran tries to contribute its grip on the Strait of Hormuz to talks with the US about ending the war permanently and as it spreads that Israel may not attack again. The funeral was delayed as the war continued.
During the ceremony, Iran’s chief negotiator warned France and the United Kingdom about their comments about starting a joint circulation in the waters, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas passed during peacetime.
Mourners burst into tears when they saw Khamenei’s coffin accompanied by members of his family who were also killed in the strike, some chanting: “Our voice is one! Revenge! Revenge!” Others carried banners and flags, and billboards throughout the city bore Khamenei’s image. Crowds of men beat their chests in rhythm in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals.
“Imam Khamenei was our heart, our father, our everything,” mourner Masoumeh Mohammadi said. “I still can’t believe that they martyred him. We will not rest until we avenge his death.”
Coffins on display at Grand Mosalla
The outdoor stage set up at Grand Mosalla was similar to the stage where Khamenei used to deliver his speeches at his compound in the city of Tehran. There was a chair like the one he sat in when he gave sermons, complete with a microphone on the table and a table next to it. Above it hung a portrait of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989.
Khomeini’s funeral was chaotic as millions thronged his funeral procession and went to the cemetery. Khamenei’s death was the second time Iran has lost a supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On Saturday, volunteers sprayed cooling water on the crowds due to the summer heat. The men and women were gathered separately inside the Grand Mosalla after being subjected to metal detectors and body searches. Police officers with guns were patrolling the surrounding streets. Many people lived outside on the street, sleeping under the shade of trees because the city was closed.
The coffins of his dead family members sat under Khamenei’s, which had his black turban on it, identifying him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. The dead include the wife of Mojtaba Khamenei, whose appearance at the funeral may not be clear. It is reported that he was injured in the killing of his father and has not been seen in public since the war started.
“We attended the funeral to show that we are all determined to defend our country and our religion,” said Ali Kazemi, from the northwestern city of Tabriz, 530 kilometers from the capital Tehran.
The funeral begins as the US turns 250
Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the US, to start the funeral. Although the authorities did not confirm the time, the crowds at the event in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!” Denial has been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the US embassy seizure and hostage crisis. And they shouted: “Death to Israel!”
“We got the hell out of Iran,” US President Donald Trump said in a speech at the same time in South Dakota in front of Mount Rushmore. “They want to live badly. We gave them a week off so they can be buried.”
The US president was not forgotten in Tehran. In the crowd at Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large banner that read: “#KillTrump.”
As the event continued, Iran’s chief negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, criticized a joint statement by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron that suggested their forces are ready to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.
Control of the route has been a major sticking point for Iran, which has suggested it wants to impose a toll on ships passing through the strait, upending decades of what is widely considered an international waterway.
“The security of Hormuz lies in the coastal states – the troublemakers will face the consequences of their adventurism,” Gharibabadi wrote on social media platform X. “This is a serious warning.”
Khamenei will be buried on Thursday in Mashhad
Khamenei’s body will be transported to the cities of Iran and other countries of Iraq. Authorities closed roads, the airport and daily life in mourning, which will end on Thursday as he is buried at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, where Khamenei was born.
Authorities did not provide an immediate count of those who attended Saturday’s event, where crowds of people streamed out of the Grand Mosalla and surrounding streets. Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.
On Sunday, a prayer for the dead is organized in Grand Mosalla. Khamenei’s body and that of his family will be taken to the streets of Tehran on Monday, which is expected to draw large crowds.
“I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei,” said Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral with her mother. “I never expected to see such a day. I wish I had died before this tragedy.”
