In the early hours of Friday, police checkpoints, stalls, posters, and army vehicles began appearing across Tehran as millions of Iranians prepared for the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei, who had been the country’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years.
Khamenei, aged 86, was killed in the opening strikes of a US-Israeli attack on Iran in February. The final farewell ceremony is meant to be a powerful display of personal grief, national strength, resilience, and social unity. By Thursday, groups of mourners carrying flags and blankets had already started gathering along roads decorated with banners featuring a red fist—the funeral’s symbol—alongside the slogan: “We must rise.” Many were heading to special hostels set up across Tehran for the pilgrims. In Revolution Square, a giant statue of a clenched fist was being installed.
At an indoor ceremony late Thursday dedicated to the families of those killed in the war, Khamenei’s coffin was shown for the first time. Emotions ran high as crowds pushed forward, throwing scarves for attendants to brush against the coffin.
General Ahmad Vahidi, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), appeared in public for the first time since February 8. He had played a key role in crushing the January protests and was involved in the asymmetric warfare strategy that allowed the Iranian government to claim its military survival during the 40-day war was a major diplomatic victory.
Later, the body was taken across Tehran to the vast Grand Mosalla mosque. It was carried high out of a van and passed over a sea of hands into the Great Hall, where it will lie for three days.
The scale of the funeral is designed to send political and religious messages of resistance to the rest of the world. As many as 30 million people may attend. At the request of Iraqi politicians, Khamenei’s body will also be carried through the Iraqi Shia cities of Kerbala and Najaf.
On Friday, it was the turn of Iran’s reduced political, judicial, and military leadership to pay their respects, as the coffin was covered with the sacred flag from the shrine of Imam Husayn. Mohsen Rezaee, a senior IRGC commander, openly wept, while President Masoud Pezeshkian—who must tread carefully around the supreme leader’s authority—shed a tear.
The sight of the small coffin of Khamenei’s 14-month-old granddaughter, who was killed in the same blast that killed him along with three other family members, highlighted the personal cost of war. A group of foreign dignitaries then entered the mosque, but their presence reflected Iran’s historical isolation from regional leaders. Leaders from Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia, and Tajikistan attended at the highest levels, along with 12 heads of parliament, mostly from Arab states.
No Western leaders were invited. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, accused European countries of standing on the “wrong side of history” and called their stance on the US-Israeli attacks on Iran “truly shameful.”
For the funeral organizers, the real test comes over the next three days, as ordinary Iranians are asked to come and show their respects not just to a leader, but to the Islamic Revolution. The ongoing war with the US and Israel brings security risks from terrorism and crowd control. The burials of the first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989 and theThe funeral of IRGC leader Qassem Soleimani in 2020 was chaotic, with Khomeini’s body nearly lost as crowds surged forward, tearing at his shroud. Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, who is overseeing the funeral arrangements, said the ceremony—starting Saturday in Tehran and ending with Khamenei’s burial on Thursday in Mashhad—would be “the most important event of this century” and the largest gathering in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
Throughout Friday, Iran’s leadership increasingly emphasized resistance to the West, and even revenge. Vahidi vowed Iran would never surrender. Khamenei, he said, “has a place in our hearts and souls, and for all of us, for our beloved Iran, and for the Islamic nation, he is permanent and eternal, and we will never say goodbye to him.” The head of the judiciary told Western leaders to open their history books. Other hardline MPs spoke of blood vengeance, not mourning.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of the still-suspended parliament, said: “We must rise up and convey the nation’s call for bloodshed to the world so that the world knows that the honorable and noble nation of Iran will not remain silent in the face of oppression and arrogance and will not spare the blood of its imam. Iran stands on the threshold of creating one of the greatest scenes in its history, a day when a nation, with hearts full of love, loyalty, and the pain of separation, comes to bid farewell to a great man.”
Nevertheless, there remains a significant absence and uncertainty about the coming days. Despite many posters showing Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, walking with his father in a garden, projecting continuity, Mojtaba is not expected to appear at his father’s funeral. He was severely injured in the same US-Israeli strike on a government residence in Tehran at a little after 8 a.m. local time on February 28, which killed many of his family.
The extent of Mojtaba’s injuries is unknown, and he has so far only issued written statements, including one that distanced himself from the ceasefire negotiations but allowed them to continue. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, threatened to kill him this week, saying he was marked for death—remarks that prompted hardliners to call for a re-examination of Iran’s fatwa against possessing nuclear weapons. His physical absence, as rival political factions claim his support and inflation soars, is putting Iran’s flexible yet secretive political system under great strain. But this is a government that has shown a surprising capacity for resistance and renewal, which it wants the West to see as Iranians say their goodbyes.
A 6-mile (10 km) procession through central Tehran is planned for Monday, from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square, the site of the 1979 revolution that ultimately led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic, which Khamenei led after Khomeini’s death from natural causes in 1989.
The funeral organizers, aware that glorifying Khamenei’s life without acknowledging the current economic suffering of millions of Iranians could provoke a backlash, have put up posters proclaiming “a bright future for Iran.”
The funeral date coincides with Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, a time when Shia Muslims gather to commemorate the seventh-century martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, who refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad caliph Yazid I, a ruler he considered tyrannical. The parallels with Khamenei’s own death are striking.The values of the West are obvious. In one of his final speeches, on February 17, Khamenei brought up this Shia symbol of resistance, saying: “Someone like me will not swear loyalty to someone like Yazid. A nation with Iran’s culture will not swear loyalty to corrupt leaders like those in America.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the expected sixday funeral for Ali Khamenei written in a natural tone with direct answers
General Practical Questions
1 Why is the funeral expected to last six days
The sixday schedule allows for mourning processions in multiple major cities across Iran including Tehran Mashhad and Qom This gives millions of people from different regions the chance to pay their respects without causing a massive singleday gridlock
2 How many people are expected to attend
Officials are predicting millions of mourners possibly the largest gatherings in Irans history Crowds could rival or exceed those seen at the funeral of General Qasem Soleimani in 2020
3 Where will the main funeral ceremony be held
The main state funeral will likely be held at the Grand Mosalla Mosque in Tehran followed by a procession to Azadi Square A separate burial will take place in his hometown of Mashhad near the Imam Reza shrine
4 Will the funeral be open to the public
Yes the processions are designed for public participation However security will be extremely tight and access to certain areas near the body may be restricted to VIPs and official delegations
Security Logistics
5 Are there any safety concerns for attendees
Yes With millions of people in tight spaces there are risks of stampedes heat exhaustion and potential security threats from dissidents or foreign actors Authorities will deploy heavy security and medical tents
6 How will the government handle the massive crowds
The government will likely close major highways suspend flights to and from Tehran and deploy thousands of Basij militia and Revolutionary Guard members to manage traffic and crowd control Public transportation will be free or heavily subsidized
7 Will foreign leaders attend
Its expected that representatives from allied nations will attend Western leaders will likely send lowerlevel diplomats or skip the event entirely due to political tensions
Political Historical Context
8 What happens to Irans leadership immediately after his death
According to the constitution the Assembly of Experts will convene to select a new Supreme Leader In the interim a council made up of the President the Judiciary Chief and a member of the Guardian Council will temporarily assume his powers
