After days of what Iranian authorities cast as a show of force, the funeral procession for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei began Monday in Tehran, drawing crowds to Revolution Square who waved flags bearing the funeral slogan and chanted for “justice and revenge.”
Khamenei’s coffin was draped in the Iranian flag, as were the coffins of his family members killed on February 28 in the opening strike of the war. The coffins were to be carried for 12 hours on a truck through the streets of Tehran, ending at Mehrabad Airport.
Revolution Square in Tehran
Streets and airspace were closed for the funeral procession, which began Saturday and is expected to end Thursday, when Khamenei is to be buried in Mashhad, his birthplace. Talks with the United States have been frozen until after the burial.
As the procession advanced, calls from the crowd for revenge over Khamenei’s killing grew louder. Some mourners carried signs calling for the deaths of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
U.S. federal authorities have for years monitored threats from Iran against Trump and other senior officials, following Trump’s 2020 decision to order the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to assassinate Trump, though Iranian officials and supporters have continued to publicly call for his death.
“Today, as we are here for the funeral of our leader, it is a very difficult day,” Fatemeh Hassan told the Associated Press on Monday morning. “We did not come here to say goodbye to him. We came here for revenge. And we will take revenge.” Sunday and Monday were declared public holidays across the Islamic Republic to allow workers to attend the mourning ceremonies.
Presence from the Iraqi militia at the funeral
The vehicle carrying the coffins of Ali Khamenei and his family
(Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)
The mass funeral for Khamenei, the hardline cleric who led Iran for 37 years and worked throughout that period to export the “Islamic Revolution” across the Middle East, began Saturday. On Sunday, senior regime figures came to pay their respects, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; parliament speaker and lead U.S. negotiations figure Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; and Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani.
Khamenei’s sons, Masoud, Mostafa and Meisam, were also present and were filmed crying. But the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was not seen alongside his brothers and has not appeared in public since the announcement of his appointment.
The host of Sunday’s ceremony, poet Mohammad Rasouli, called before a crowd of hundreds of thousands for Trump’s death, saying: “Why is the most bastardly person in the world still alive?” The crowd responded with applause, and Rasouli added: “The world is already an unsafe place for Trump.”
According to AFP, the site where Sunday’s funeral ceremony was held was full from the morning hours, as were nearby streets. Participants carried Iranian national flags, portraits of Khamenei and red flags symbolizing the need for revenge. Authorities said between 15 million and 20 million people were expected to take part in the mourning ceremonies in Tehran.
Meanwhile, despite the U.S. president’s promises to stop the suppression of protesters in Iran, the crackdown on regime opponents continues and, according to some reports, has intensified.
According to Amnesty International figures published by The New York Times, about 6,000 people have been arrested across Iran since the war began on February 28. The regime has recently expanded its use of the death penalty while accusing some opponents of cooperating with the United States and Israel.