Tehran, Iran – Millions poured into Tehran for three days of mourning,ending in a massive funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,Iran’s slain supreme leader. The tightly orchestrated events,concluding Monday,aimed to send global messages of defiance and vengeance.
A large funeral procession carried Khamenei’s and four family members' coffins along a 10-kilometer route. sheer number of devoted mourners, chanting “death to America” and “death to Israel,” repeatedly stalled the procession.
The dead,including Khamenei’s 14-month-old granddaughter Zara,were killed in Israeli-American air strikes on February 28. Five coffins,with intricate designs and Islamic script in Iran’s flag colors, were carried on a truck. Red flags, symbolizing martyrdom,fueled calls for revenge.
Posters targeting US President Donald Trump were visible among the foreign journalists covering the funeral. An Iranian app had urged slogans like “Our revenge is inevitable.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the world’s view of the mourning,saying,
Tears arise from the pain and sorrow that surges within a person, and world sees this truth,countering Trump’s claim of “fake tears.” A man named Mojtaba told reporters,
Soon, very soon you will see signs of revenge at the top of the White House,and soon the colour of White House will be the colour of my red flag.
Despite the show of unity, many stayed away. Iran struggles with two wars in a year,80% inflation,and the aftermath of January protests . Some blame Khamenei for crackdown that killed thousands.
Outside rest station,one man said,
Of course I'm not going to the funeral . Many people don't have work and are so unhappy .Even within the crowd, two young women whispered to the media that true revolutionary voices were in recent protests.
A government official admitted some revenge calls were
just ritualistic, anger is real among hardline critics within the system who oppose new deal with the United States which killed our leader.Iran’s new leaders face financial woes,needing sanctions relief and asset unfreezing.
The commemorations continue at Shia sacred sites, moving to Qom Tuesday, then to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq. Final burial set for Thursday at Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
Mohammad Eslami,a Tehran University research fellow, said the proceedings framed Khamenei as more than a national leader,but a religious and political figure across Muslim world . Karim Sadjadpour, author of Reading Khamenei: the World View of Iran's Most Powerful Leader, had a harsher take:
The revolution he preserved was for a world which no longer exists.
Iran steps into a new era with its third Supreme Leader, 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamanei. He hasn’t been seen since the air strikes that killed his father also injured him. His absence noted by his brothers' presence at the mosque where their father lay in state. Officials cite Israeli threats to assassinate him. A woman from Hamadan insisted,
He's in my heart and I hope he is safe from Trump and Netanyahu.
Organizers dubbed this “event of the century,” using symbols like giant clenched fist in Enqelab Square to show the Islamic Republic won't be defeated. A stark contrast to Ayatollah Khomeini’s burial decades ago,when his coffin broke and chaos ensued.
