Iran begins to mourn killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as four days of ceremonies begin
Jon Gambrell And Nasser Karimi
Teheran: Iran has unfurled banners in the capital Tehran to mourn and bury its late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launching a series of elaborate events urging people to stand up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
Khamenei’s coffin was displayed at the Grand Mosalla, a large prayer complex in Tehran where the religious leader gave many important speeches during his reign. His flag-draped coffin was accompanied by the coffins of other slain family members, according to state news sources.
It is unclear whether Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since being elected as religious leader in March, will attend any funerals.
State television showed people gathering at night in several Iranian cities on Friday (Saturday AEST), supporting the country’s theocracy and chanting slogans against America and Israel.
The government expects millions of people to take to the streets of Tehran starting Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the 1989 funeral of late religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
This could provide support to the Iranian government, which is trying to strengthen its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, especially in negotiations with the United States for a permanent end to the war, and at a time when there are still concerns that Israel could attack again.
A powerful general who commanded Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has appeared publicly for his funeral for the first time in months. Foreign dignitaries as well as other senior government officials will likely be present at Iran’s show of force.
“As long as these people chosen by God are on the field, we will definitely continue the ‘no humiliation’ policy established by the Islamic Republic,” said volunteer Mohammed Hussein Rizai, who was preparing for Friday’s funeral.
“We will continue our policy of independence, decisions will be made within the country, the people will determine their own destiny,” he said.
Coffins are on display
Among the dead commemorated with Khamenei are his son-in-law, his eldest daughter, his 14-month-old grandson and Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife.
Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries marched next to Khamenei’s coffin as a military band played or a man prayed. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Galibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, key leaders of the country’s civilian government, paid their respects.
Video published by Iranian state media showed an earlier mourning ceremony for Khamenei on Thursday night (Iran time).
Black-clad mourners, identified by state media as belonging to families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iranian war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to rub against the coffin, a common practice in Iran.
State media later showed photos of Khamenei’s coffin draped with a red flag with white outlines reading “Ya Hussein,” a Shiite phrase commemorating the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It was flying over the golden-domed mausoleum of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolizes both the shed blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for revenge.
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Photos posted online by Iranian state media show General Ahmed Vahidi attending a meeting about Khamenei’s funeral on Thursday, then sitting next to his coffin as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller ceremony near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran on Thursday night.
“They should know that the pure blood of our martyr imam will be another turning point in the victories of the beloved Islam in the global arena,” Vahidi told state television.
“They will carry this nation’s desire for surrender to the grave. This nation will rise higher every day with this pure blood.”
Experts say Vahidi has become a key player in formulating Iran’s hardline stance in negotiations with the United States toward a permanent end to the war. He had not been seen in public since February 8, weeks before the start of the Iran war. During the war, Israel killed senior leaders of the Iranian military and government and threatened the life of the new religious leader. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small group in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.
It is not yet known whether Khamenei will attend his father’s funeral. His father appeared at Ayatollah Khomeini’s funeral in 1989 and visibly wept as he began his decades-long journey of ruling Iran with an iron fist while confronting the West.
Israel’s repeated threats to kill Khamenei prompted a warning from Iran’s joint military command on Thursday for Israel and the United States to “avoid any miscalculations” in the coming days.
The funeral will last for days
Khamenei’s official funeral is expected to last several days and his body will be transferred to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities plan to close streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate his life.
In Iran’s capital, images of the late Khamenei’s fist could be seen on banners and on a giant statue in Enghelab Square that featured what appeared to be ballistic missiles flying through the air.
In his first message to the nation, read by a state television announcer, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father’s body after his death, with his fist raised and clenched.
The banners read in Arabic, English and Persian: “We must stand up.”
“This fist is the clenched fist of all Muslims,” said taxi driver Jafar Javadi.
“The leader’s fist is a sign that all our fists are clenched, and they [the enemies] With God’s permission, it will be destroyed with these fists. “We will continue to chant death to America and death to Israel with the same clenched fist.”
