Iran began an extended state funeral for Ali Khamenei on Friday, opening six days of ceremonies that were expected to draw vast crowds while placing the country’s leadership and political succession under intense scrutiny.
Khamenei’s coffin was carried into Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, where senior political, military and judicial officials paid their respects before the venue opened to the wider public. The coffin was covered with the Iranian flag and displayed with the black turban associated with Khamenei’s clerical rank.
The former supreme leader was 86 when he was killed in an airstrike on 28 February, at the beginning of the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States. He had held Iran’s highest office since 1989, giving him decisive influence over the country’s security establishment, foreign policy and political system for more than three decades.
The funeral programme was designed on a scale far beyond a single ceremony. Khamenei was to lie in state in Tehran through the weekend, followed by a procession through the capital on Monday. Further ceremonies were planned in Qom and the Iraqi Shia holy cities of Karbala and Najaf before a final burial in Mashhad, Khamenei’s home city, on Thursday.
Authorities prepared Tehran for an influx of mourners by closing roads, deploying security personnel and creating temporary accommodation. Red Crescent tents were installed in a city park, while water tankers were positioned along routes as temperatures above 35C raised concerns about heat exposure. Organisers also issued crowd-safety guidance, mindful of deadly crushes at major Iranian funerals in the past.
Foreign delegations joined Iranian officials at the Mosalla. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended with army chief Asim Munir, while former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev represented Moscow. Representatives associated with Hamas and the family of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah were also present. The mix of guests reflected Iran’s alliances and the regional networks cultivated during Khamenei’s rule.
The ceremonies were also an exercise in political messaging. Iranian leaders presented the funeral as evidence that the state had survived the war and remained cohesive. Senior officials used public appearances to promise resistance and accountability for Khamenei’s death. The display came after weeks of fighting had paused under an initial accord between Iran and the United States, leaving the longer-term settlement unresolved.
One absence drew particular attention. Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei’s son and successor, had not appeared publicly since being named supreme leader. Reports said he was injured in the same strike that killed his father, but officials had not disclosed the severity of his condition. His communications had been limited to written statements, making the funeral an early test of whether the new leadership could demonstrate visible authority.
The event therefore carried two meanings at once. For supporters, it offered a prolonged national farewell to a leader who had shaped the Islamic Republic for a generation. For the state, it provided a carefully staged opportunity to show continuity after the loss of senior figures and the disruption of war.
Yet the crowds and official symbolism could not resolve the questions facing the country: the health and public role of the new supreme leader, the durability of the pause in fighting, economic strain and the balance of power among institutions weakened by the conflict. As the funeral procession moved from Tehran toward Mashhad, those questions remained central to Iran’s next political chapter.
