Huge crowds fill Tehran streets for Khamenei’s funeral procession
A Spectacle of National Unity
Huge crowds fill Tehran streets for Khamenei – Tehran’s central streets were packed with thousands of mourners as the nation commemorated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s late supreme leader, whose death marked the beginning of hostilities with the United States and Israel. The procession, captured by Iranian state television, featured the late leader’s coffin draped in a national flag, slowly moving through the capital’s iconic landmarks. Enghelab Square, a symbol of revolutionary fervor, was among the key locations along the 10-kilometer route.
State media reported that millions of people gathered along the main thoroughfares, surrounding the black truck that bore the coffin and four family members. Many participants waved Iranian flags and red banners representing retaliation, while slogans like “We must rise” and “Death to Trump” echoed through the crowd. One notable display involved mourners hurling stones at a billboard featuring the face of US President Donald Trump, who had led the joint attack that killed Khamenei and his wife four months prior.
The Absence of a Key Figure
Khamenei’s sons were present during the funeral rites, with three of them offering prayers beside his coffin at the Grand Mosalla mosque. However, Mojtaba, the eldest son and Khamenei’s successor as supreme leader, did not appear. He had been hospitalized following an Israeli airstrike on 28 February, which also claimed the lives of his wife and father.
Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was spotted among the attendees, marking his first public engagement since the war began. His presence came amid reports of his bodyguards being killed in an earlier attack. Current president Masoud Pezeshkian joined the crowd, walking alongside mourners on a Tehran street. In a social media post, he stated that Khamenei had instilled in Iranians the belief that “the country’s greatest asset was its people and their unity,” and vowed to “continue the path of Iran’s honour, progress, and glory.”
Israel’s Claim of Responsibility
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted that Khamenei was “eliminated by Israel” due to his perceived threat to the nation’s survival. He emphasized that any future Iranian leader attempting to undermine Israel would face the same fate. This claim framed the event as a symbolic retaliation for the joint US-Israel strike that triggered the conflict.
The funeral ceremonies occur less than three weeks after Iran and the US signed a preliminary peace deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for 20% of global oil and gas. Both nations also agreed to a two-month window for finalizing broader terms, including nuclear agreements and sanctions relief. Qatar, acting as mediator, noted “positive progress” in indirect talks held in Doha, with plans for further discussions after the mourning period concludes.
Following Tehran, the rituals will proceed to Qom, a hub of Shia religious authority, before moving to the Iraqi cities of Karbala and Najaf. The final stage will be the burial of Khamenei at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his hometown, on Thursday. The event underscores a shift in Iran’s leadership and its renewed determination to assert national identity amid ongoing tensions.
