Iran began a six-day state funeral on Saturday, July 4, for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 — four months before his body was finally interred. Hundreds of thousands poured into Tehran, with officials saying more than 10 million mourners from across the country and abroad are expected to attend ceremonies stretching across five cities in two countries. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a direct military warning against any attack during the processions, and US-Iran nuclear negotiations have been suspended for the duration.
Mourners beat their chests rhythmically in the intense summer heat at the Grand Mosalla, the vast prayer complex in central Tehran where Khamenei’s coffin was placed beneath a glass case. The crowd chanted “Our word is one — revenge, revenge,” according to the Associated Press, while women carried bouquets of white flowers and billboards across the city bore the late leader’s image.
The caskets of four of Khamenei’s family members, killed in the same February 28 strike, were placed on display alongside him, including that of a three-year-old granddaughter. Temperatures were set to reach 36 degrees Celsius, and water-mist jets sprayed the tightly packed crowds.
Iran’s IRGC warned that “any miscalculation will be met with a decisive and more crushing response than ever before, which will be forever recorded in their shameful history.” The warning came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “marked for death,” according to Israeli news agency Ynet.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led Tehran’s ceasefire negotiating team, told Iranians Iran would “resume its proportionate measures” if the United States and Israel failed to honour the understandings already reached with Tehran.
US Ambassador Mike Waltz struck a sharply different tone. Waltz told Iran International that few would shed tears at Khamenei’s funeral, accusing him of having “his own people’s blood” on his hands and urging the UN to spotlight Iran’s recent executions of protesters.
Neither Mojtaba Khamenei nor any of Ali Khamenei’s other three sons were present at Friday’s formal state ceremony for foreign delegations. Mojtaba’s father-in-law, Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, appeared to act as the representative of the Khamenei family. Mojtaba has not appeared in public since he was designated Supreme Leader a week after his father’s assassination in March.
IRGC Commander-in-Chief Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who assumed the role after his predecessor was killed in the February 28 strikes, made a rare public appearance on Thursday, sitting alongside Khamenei’s casket during a farewell ceremony. Vahidi has not been seen in public for months and is sanctioned by the United States and wanted by Interpol.
Delegations from more than 100 countries attended ceremonies reserved for foreign dignitaries on Friday. Russia sent former President Dmitry Medvedev. Pakistan sent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Other attendees included the president of Iraq, the Afghan foreign minister, and a delegation from Hamas. No major Western leader was present. China and India sent representatives, according to their foreign ministries.
A 32-year-old Iranian woman whose brother was killed during anti-government protests in January told NPR that Khamenei’s funeral offered her little comfort, asking not to be named for fear of government retaliation. “Even in the Ayatollah’s death he still causes us torment,” she said. The IRGC was responsible for the killing of at least 7,000 people during crackdowns on protests that began in December 2025, according to HRANA, an Iranian human rights organisation.
A spokesperson for the funeral preparations said the ceremonies had been delayed because of “the war conditions” and “the brutal US invasion.” Analysts told Al Jazeera that the timing — coinciding with the first 10 days of the Muslim month of Muharram and with the United States’ Independence Day — was deliberate, framing Khamenei’s death within a Shia narrative of martyrdom.
An aide to Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf signalled Iran’s long-term posture. Mahdi Mohammadi posted on X: “Without doubt, from this day forth in all our lives, we shall have no task but to prepare for the moment of your great vengeance.”
Authorities opened more than 5,000 schools and tens of thousands of classrooms nationwide to accommodate pilgrims travelling to the capital. Tehran’s airspace was completely closed on Monday for the main procession day.
The funeral’s scale is a calculated message. The week-long mourning period is intended to project the strength and resilience of the Islamic Republic after a bruising war with the United States and Israel.
Background
Hostilities between the United States, Israel, and Iran broke out on February 28, 2026, after US-Israeli airstrikes killed Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Khamenei. The attacks were launched while negotiations toward a nuclear peace agreement were underway. The combined US-Israeli force conducted nearly 900 strikes on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of the campaign, according to an unidentified US official speaking to Fox News. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel, US military bases, and Gulf Arab states, and blocked the Strait of Hormuz. A formal state funeral for Khamenei was originally planned for early March but was postponed, with observers noting the delay indicated a leadership crisis inside the Islamic Republic. Mojtaba Khamenei was designated Supreme Leader a week after his father’s death; he has not appeared in public since.
What Happens Next
US-Iran negotiations are set to resume on July 11, following the conclusion of the funeral ceremonies on July 9, according to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news outlet. The talks are expected to cover sanctions, Iran’s frozen funds, and nuclear matters. Qatar, which has served as mediator, said the most recent indirect talks in Doha made “positive progress” and that further discussions would be scheduled at “the earliest possible time” after the funeral. Whether Mojtaba Khamenei makes a public appearance during the funeral processions — including at the burial in Mashhad on July 9 — is being watched closely by regional governments and analysts as a signal of his grip on power. France and the United Kingdom announced a new agreement with Oman on Friday to support safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and said they stand ready to deploy a multinational military mission if needed.
