Thousands and officials in Tehran stage Khamenei funeral procession as state mourning continues

Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was taken through central Tehran on Monday in a large state funeral procession, with Iranian state television footage showing a dense crowd lining major boulevards and waving Iranian flags and red banners. The procession followed several days of public mourning for Khamenei, who was killed during the early phase of a war that the BBC reported began after an attack involving the United States and Israel. The BBC said the coffin was transported on a truck along a route that passed by landmark Enghelab Square and that the procession moved slowly through the capital over the final day of the capital’s three-day mourning period.

According to the BBC, Khamenei’s body had been laid in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque before the street procession. The outlet reported that three of Khamenei’s sons prayed beside his coffin at the mosque on Sunday, while his successor, Mojtaba, did not appear. The BBC added that Mojtaba has not been seen in public since reporting that he was seriously wounded in an Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February, an attack that also killed his father and his wife.

Crowd estimates differed by outlet, and Iranian authorities did not immediately provide a specific figure, according to additional reporting. The Business Standard reported that authorities did not release an official estimate as the coffins moved through Tehran, while also describing a gathering that stretched for several kilometres and said the turnout appeared larger than the 2020 funeral procession for Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani. Al Jazeera also reported large crowds in Tehran as the procession moved through the city.

The BBC reported that mourners chanted anti-U.S. slogans and carried placards calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump, including messages pinned to the conflict that began after a joint attack Iran said involved the United States and Israel. The BBC also described street demonstrations in which mourners threw stones at a billboard showing Trump’s face. Separately, the Business Standard included comments from a mourner who said the funeral was meant “for revenge,” and reported that participants reached out to touch the truck carrying the coffin.

Alongside Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, the Business Standard reported that coffins of several family members killed in the 28 February airstrike were also carried during the procession. The BBC said the state media presentation included additional family coffins and that mourners filled main boulevards connecting central Tehran landmarks, crowding around the vehicle carrying Khamenei and other family members.

The funeral procession occurred as Tehran prepared for continued diplomacy aimed at ending the wider conflict, with the Business Standard reporting that Iran is preparing to resume negotiations with the United States on reaching a permanent end to the fighting. The BBC’s account placed the procession within the broader sequence of ceremonies in the capital following Khamenei’s death, including the period of lying in state and the final street procession through central Tehran.

In the near term, Iranian officials are expected to continue the multi-city mourning schedule referenced by international reporting, while security arrangements in and around central Tehran likely remain heightened given the scale of the crowds and the presence of political slogans directed at foreign leaders. The mix of state-directed ceremony and highly charged public messaging is likely to remain a central feature of the mourning period as officials and mourners mark Khamenei’s death and the war’s start.

As more days of ceremonies unfold, attention will focus on the role of Khamenei’s successor, given Mojtaba’s reported absence from public view since the 28 February strike. If and when officials provide additional updates about his health and public appearances, it may clarify how the succession process is being managed during a period of national mourning and ongoing efforts to reach an end to the conflict.