Tehran funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei draws huge crowds, revenge chants
Huge crowds thronged Tehran for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral procession as mourners demanded revenge against the US and Israel. The ceremony has become a show of regime strength while war-end and nuclear talks with Washington remain stalled.
Large crowds dressed in black filled Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with many mourners calling for revenge and carrying signs demanding the death of US President Donald Trump. The turnout, encouraged by Iran's ruling establishment as a show of strength, came as Tehran remains in negotiations with Washington over a permanent end to the war in which the 86-year-old cleric was killed.
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, along with the coffins of members of his family killed in the February 28 airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, was placed on a truck decorated to resemble the ornamental grating around an imam's shrine. The funeral, which began on Saturday, is due to end on Thursday with Khamenei's burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
Helicopter images shown on Iranian state television showed a huge crowd stretching from Tehran's Azadi, or Freedom, Square for kilometres along the avenue of the same name. The crowd appeared to be larger than the one seen at the 2020 procession for late Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, which drew more than 1 million people. Authorities did not immediately give a crowd estimate as the truck moved slowly through the city.
People along the route reached out to touch the truck, while some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran that is seen as a blessing. Some attendants stood on the ladders of fire engines and sprayed misted water over the crowd in the heat. Officials, apparently worried about the risks of such a large gathering, repeatedly asked people over loudspeakers to walk slowly, not push and stay to the sides of the road.
"Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it's a very tough day," mourner Fatima Hassan said. "We are not here to say goodbye to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge." Another mourner, Maryam Alizadeh, said through tears: "This is the last time I am seeing him. Our generation lived with him for decades." Revolutionary Guard General Hasan Hasanzadeh, who is overseeing the procession, said the coffins would be taken through Tehran on a 12-hour journey to Mehrabad International Airport.
As the funeral ceremonies have continued, calls for revenge have grown louder. Mourners and the signs they carried called for the killing of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Similar signs were visible again on Monday, and one effigy of Trump was shown hanging along the procession route. "We are here to show that his path will continue, and every single one of these people will continue down his path with clenched fists and soon we will certainly avenge his death against the US and Israel," mourner Sahar Zaraatgar said.
US federal authorities have for years tracked Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials linked to Trump's order for the 2020 killing of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to kill Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage has long suggested Trump was in Tehran's sights. Trump, meanwhile, promised during the war to destroy Iran's civilisation, among other threats.
Talks between the US and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. Washington wants to move ahead with negotiations aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back Iran's disputed nuclear programme and reaching a permanent end to the war. Iran, however, is seeking a measure of control over the strait, a vital waterway for global energy that it shut down during the war, while both sides also remain divided over Iran's nuclear programme and the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared at any of the ceremonies so far. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father. Before the April ceasefire, Israel had targeted senior leaders and in at least one case likely used a public appearance to locate them, and it has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei. The funeral has therefore unfolded amid both public mourning and continued tensions over the war and the stalled negotiations.
With PTI Inputs
Large crowds dressed in black filled Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with many mourners calling for revenge and carrying signs demanding the death of US President Donald Trump. The turnout, encouraged by Iran's ruling establishment as a show of strength, came as Tehran remains in negotiations with Washington over a permanent end to the war in which the 86-year-old cleric was killed.
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, along with the coffins of members of his family killed in the February 28 airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, was placed on a truck decorated to resemble the ornamental grating around an imam's shrine. The funeral, which began on Saturday, is due to end on Thursday with Khamenei's burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
Helicopter images shown on Iranian state television showed a huge crowd stretching from Tehran's Azadi, or Freedom, Square for kilometres along the avenue of the same name. The crowd appeared to be larger than the one seen at the 2020 procession for late Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, which drew more than 1 million people. Authorities did not immediately give a crowd estimate as the truck moved slowly through the city.
People along the route reached out to touch the truck, while some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran that is seen as a blessing. Some attendants stood on the ladders of fire engines and sprayed misted water over the crowd in the heat. Officials, apparently worried about the risks of such a large gathering, repeatedly asked people over loudspeakers to walk slowly, not push and stay to the sides of the road.
"Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it's a very tough day," mourner Fatima Hassan said. "We are not here to say goodbye to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge." Another mourner, Maryam Alizadeh, said through tears: "This is the last time I am seeing him. Our generation lived with him for decades." Revolutionary Guard General Hasan Hasanzadeh, who is overseeing the procession, said the coffins would be taken through Tehran on a 12-hour journey to Mehrabad International Airport.
As the funeral ceremonies have continued, calls for revenge have grown louder. Mourners and the signs they carried called for the killing of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Similar signs were visible again on Monday, and one effigy of Trump was shown hanging along the procession route. "We are here to show that his path will continue, and every single one of these people will continue down his path with clenched fists and soon we will certainly avenge his death against the US and Israel," mourner Sahar Zaraatgar said.
US federal authorities have for years tracked Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials linked to Trump's order for the 2020 killing of Soleimani, who led the elite Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to kill Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage has long suggested Trump was in Tehran's sights. Trump, meanwhile, promised during the war to destroy Iran's civilisation, among other threats.
Talks between the US and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. Washington wants to move ahead with negotiations aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back Iran's disputed nuclear programme and reaching a permanent end to the war. Iran, however, is seeking a measure of control over the strait, a vital waterway for global energy that it shut down during the war, while both sides also remain divided over Iran's nuclear programme and the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared at any of the ceremonies so far. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father. Before the April ceasefire, Israel had targeted senior leaders and in at least one case likely used a public appearance to locate them, and it has also threatened to kill the younger Khamenei. The funeral has therefore unfolded amid both public mourning and continued tensions over the war and the stalled negotiations.
With PTI Inputs
