Dayslong funeral – Iran began days of funeral proceedings for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in February. The ceremonies, delayed by “war conditions” and what officials called the “brutal U.S. invasion,” will move h
When Iran opened the doors to mourners on Saturday, the message arrived before any eulogy: the funeral is not just a ritual, it’s a reckoning that plays out on streets, in chants, and in photographs carried through the grief.
Iran began funeral proceedings for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in February. Funeral preparations. a spokesperson said in a statement. began four months after Khamenei’s death because of “war conditions” and “the brutal U.S. invasion.”.
The timetable is set like a procession of reminders. The late Ayatollah’s body will be taken to cities in Iran and Iraq. On Sunday, there will be a prayer for the dead at the Grand Mosalla. On Monday, Khamenei’s and his family’s bodies will be taken through the streets of Tehran. After that. the body will be transported to Qom for a Tuesday ceremony. then to Karbala. Iraq. for a Wednesday stop before being laid to rest in Mashhad. Iran.
President Masoud Pezeshkian framed the moment in a vow meant to outlast the loss. “With hearts heavy with sorrow and wills filled with hope, the great nation of Iran will prove that the flag, for whose continued soaring the martyred leader strove, will not fall to the ground,” he posted on X.
Alongside Khamenei’s body, prayers also covered four members of his family killed in the Feb. 28 strike that Iranian officials say started the war with Iran. The names were given as his son-in-law, Dr. Mesbah al-Hoda Baqeri Kani; his daughter, Seyedeh Boshra Hosseini Khamenei; his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad Adel; and granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.
The grief was sharp enough to become a question asked aloud. Ayatollah Mohammadi Golpaygani, the other grandfather of 14-month-old Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, asked, “What sin did she commit?” according to the New York Times.
Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen publicly during the funeral events.
Outside the ceremonial schedule, the scene already carried a political charge. Hundreds of thousands of mourners beat their chests in front of a glass case holding Khamenei’s coffin. covered with a flag. as reported by The Associated Press. Some mourners called for revenge against those who killed Khamenei.
The anger wasn’t confined to one death. Mourners carried photographs of victims in the strike on a girls’ school in Minab that killed over 100 children. according to the New York Times. Multiple media outlets have reported that U.S. officials said a military investigation found that the strike was done by American forces. Humanitarian organizations have said such an attack is a breach of international law.
Foreign attention also landed inside Iran’s halls. Foreign dignitaries attended a ceremony for Khamenei. including Iraqi President Nizar Amidi. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz. among others. CNN reported. Abbas Araghchi. Iran’s foreign minister. said Iran was “pleased to have received representatives from more than seventy countries who chose to participate in honoring our Supreme Leader.”.
Not every message from abroad read as sympathy. Reza Pahlavi. Iran’s Crown Prince exiled for decades. said in a message to foreign representatives in Iran that the country is not mourning Khamenei. but the “more than 40. 000 sons and daughters slaughtered on January 8 and 9” during protests under his regime. “What you see today is not a nation in grief for its ruler,” he said. “It is a nation filled with righteous anger. and that anger and heroic bravery will bring down what remains of this criminal regime.”.
As mourners moved through the early days of the funeral, U.S.-Iran diplomacy remained paused. Talks between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the war permanently are suspended for now. The pause followed remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump before the funeral, saying the United States “gave [Iran] a week off for a funeral.”.
The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz—another negotiation sticking point—continued in parallel. Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi still took to social media Saturday to respond to a joint statement by the United Kingdom’s prime minister and French president about the Strait of Hormuz.
In the statement. outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said the Sultanate of Oman agreed to work with both countries to “ensure that its sovereign territorial waters are safe for navigation.” The statement added that the UK and France were “stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”.
Gharibabadi. posting on X. said the strait is “not a theater for the military display of extra-regional powers.” He warned: “Iran. as the responsible power and guarantor of the Strait’s security. warns with sensitivity to any military movement in this waterway.” He added. “The security of Hormuz lies with the coastal states; the crisis-makers will be held accountable for the consequences of their adventurism; this is a serious warning.”.
The funeral calendar runs through Tehran, Qom, and Karbala before a final burial in Mashhad. But in the crowd, in the photographs, and in the official language from both sides of the Atlantic, the public meaning is already clear: mourning and leverage are happening at the same time.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei funeral Iran Supreme Leader U.S. Israel airstrikes February Trump week off for funeral Strait of Hormuz Keir Starmer Emmanuel Macron statement Kazem Gharibabadi
So he got killed and now they’re doing all this? Makes sense I guess.
Four months later?? That’s insane. Also the US and Israel are really just out there doing whatever and then they act surprised when people get angry…
Wait so they’re moving the body through Iran and Iraq like a parade? I saw something about ‘war conditions’ and ‘invasion’ but honestly I can’t tell what’s propaganda vs actual timeline. Didn’t they say he died in February though, not like… years ago? Idk.
This is just the whole ‘we’re strong’ PR thing. If the US and Israel did the strike, why would the funeral even be happening in like Tehran then Iraq then Karbala… wouldn’t they be worried about security? Also ‘reckoning on streets’ like chants and photos, ok cool, but that doesn’t bring anyone back.