{"id":1737,"date":"2026-07-06T06:48:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/07\/06\/khamenei-funeral-procession-begins-in-tehran-draws-massive-crowds-of-mourners\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T06:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:48:40","slug":"khamenei-funeral-procession-begins-in-tehran-draws-massive-crowds-of-mourners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=1737","title":{"rendered":"Khamenei funeral procession begins in Tehran, draws massive crowds of mourners"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--banner-top o-ad-container--with-shimmer o-ad-container--with-background\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-type=\"sponsoring\" data-tms-ad-status=\"disabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-sponsoring__wrapper\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content t-content--article\" id=\"main-content\">\n<div class=\"t-content__above-sidebar\">\n<h1 class=\"t-content__title a-page-title\">Khamenei funeral procession begins in Tehran, draws massive crowds of mourners<\/h1>\n<div class=\"m-master-tag\">\n<div class=\"a-tag-section\">\n                                    Middle East\n                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"t-content__chapo\">\n                                        The funeral procession for Iran&#8217;s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei set out Monday morning through the streets of Tehran, according to state television, on the third day of a state funeral intended by the Iranian government to be a show of strength and unity.                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__with-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"t-content__beside-sidebar\" data-article-content>\n<div class=\"t-content__metadata\">\n<div class=\"t-content__dates\">\n<p class=\"m-pub-dates\"><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Issued on: <time datetime=\"2026-07-06T06:28:14+00:00\">06\/07\/2026 &#8211; 08:28<\/time><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-reading-time\">\n    <span class=\"a-reading-time__icon\" title=\"Reading time\"><\/p>\n<p>    <\/span><br \/>\n    3 min    <span class=\"u-sr-only\">Reading time<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"a-share-button\" data-root-share>\n<p>                            <span class=\"a-master-button__label\">Share<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__authors\">\n<div class=\"m-from-author\">\n                    <span class=\"m-from-author__by-label\"><br \/>\n                By:<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-author\">\n<div class=\"m-author__name\">\n                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/author\/france-24\/\" title=\"FRANCE 24\" class=\"m-author__name__title\"><br \/>\n                                FRANCE 24<br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__main-media\">\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8f5d10a6-78ff-11f1-9655-005056bf30b7\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/AP26187170914201.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8f5d10a6-78ff-11f1-9655-005056bf30b7\/w:388\/p:16x9\/AP26187170914201.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8f5d10a6-78ff-11f1-9655-005056bf30b7\/w:720\/p:16x9\/AP26187170914201.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8f5d10a6-78ff-11f1-9655-005056bf30b7\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/AP26187170914201.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1012px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Mourners gather in and around Islamic Revolution Square as they wait for the funeral procession of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 6, 2026.\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                Mourners gather in and around Islamic Revolution Square as they wait for the funeral procession of Iran&#8217;s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on July 6, 2026.        \u00a9 Altaf Qadri, AP    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__body u-clearfix\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/15-million-people-expected-to-attend-former-supreme-leader-s-funeral\" target=\"_self\">funeral procession for Iran&#8217;s late supreme leader<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/ayatollah-ali-khamenei\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> began in Tehran on Monday, state television reported, as authorities prepared for crowds that could rival those that turned out for his predecessor nearly four decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremonies offer Iran an opportunity to project resilience after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/iran-conflict\/\" target=\"_self\">five weeks of war with the United States and Israel<\/a>, while attention remains focused on Khamenei&#8217;s successor, his son <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/mojtaba-khamenei\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>, who has not appeared in public since taking power.<\/p>\n<p>After lying in state for two days at Tehran&#8217;s Grand Mosalla religious complex, the body of Khamenei \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/asia-pacific\/20260301-iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-khamenei-dies-killed\" target=\"_self\">who was killed on the first day of the Middle East war<\/a> on February 28 \u2013 began its journey through the capital accompanied by massive crowds of mourners, state broadcaster IRIB reported.<\/p>\n<p>Mourners gathered in Imam Hussein Square in eastern Tehran and hanged an effigy of US President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Donald Trump<\/a>, according to state media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a-read-more\"><span class=\"a-read-more__label\">Read more<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/middle-east\/20260704-hezbollah-hamas-and-houthi-officials-attend-funeral-ceremonies-for-iran-s-khamenei\" target=\"_self\" class=\"a-read-more__link\">Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi officials attend funeral ceremonies for Iran&#8217;s Khamenei<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that marred the 1989 funeral of Khamenei&#8217;s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which drew an estimated 10 million people, according to state news agency IRNA.<\/p>\n<p>Crowd surges in Khomeini&#8217;s funeral killed more than 10 people and injured over 10,000.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands had filled the Grand Mosalla on Sunday to pay their respects to Khamenei and his four family members, all killed on February 28 in Israeli air strikes based on US intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>Massive concrete walls separated the public from the coffin to prevent stampedes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-video\">\n<div class=\"m-em-video__title\">15 million people expected to attend former supreme leader&#8217;s funeral<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-video-player o-video-player--16x9\" data-media-video-wbmz564850-f24-en-20260704 data-show-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ564850-F24-EN-20260704\" data-wrapper-video-player data-youtube-script>\n<div class=\"o-em-consent \">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-consent__content__text\">To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.<\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"accept\"><br \/>\n            Accept<\/p>\n<p>        <\/button><br \/>\n        <button class=\"a-link\" data-action=\"manage\">Manage my choices                <\/p>\n<p><\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock\" data-adblock-content>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-adblock__content__text\">One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.<\/p>\n<p>            <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"reload\">Try again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2293aa80-7782-11f1-9673-005056a90284\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/EN-20260704-100614-100818-CS.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2293aa80-7782-11f1-9673-005056a90284\/w:388\/p:16x9\/EN-20260704-100614-100818-CS.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2293aa80-7782-11f1-9673-005056a90284\/w:720\/p:16x9\/EN-20260704-100614-100818-CS.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2293aa80-7782-11f1-9673-005056a90284\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/EN-20260704-100614-100818-CS.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) calc(100vw - 32px), (max-width: 1076px) calc(100vw - 44px), 850px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"15 million people expected to attend former supreme leader's funeral\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n    Cover image:                    \u00a9 FRANCE 24    <\/figcaption><div class=\"m-item-image__overlay-wrapper\">\n                <button class=\"m-main-media-btn\" aria-label=\"15 million people expected to attend former supreme leader's funeral: Play the video\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"m-main-media-btn__picto\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-circle-loader\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><br \/>\n<time class=\"a-media-time\">02:03<\/time>                <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ564850-F24-EN-20260704\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It is unclear what level of access and proximity the public will have during the procession, but authorities are mindful that in 1989 they were forced to use a helicopter to transport Khomeini for burial after mourners stormed his vehicle, causing his burial shroud to tear and his body to fall to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>As well as laying Khamenei \u2013 who ruled the Islamic republic for more than three-and-a-half decades \u2013 to rest, the funerals are a chance for Iran&#8217;s authorities to burnish their resilience after five weeks at war with Israel and the United States.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Mojtaba absent<\/h2>\n<p>Parliament speaker and chief negotiator with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, hailed on X the way the &#8220;proud and invincible nation of Islamic Iran unanimously&#8221; paid tribute to its &#8220;martyr&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Monday&#8217;s procession will be followed by similar events in the clerical hub of Qom on Tuesday and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/iraq\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Iraq<\/a>&#8216;s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, culminating in Khamenei&#8217;s burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Three of Ali Khamenei&#8217;s sons made a rare public appearance at the funeral on Sunday, further highlighting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/asia-pacific\/20260705-iran-new-supreme-leader-mojtaba-khamenei-absent-from-mass-funeral-for-father\" target=\"_self\">absence of Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>, who was named supreme leader shortly after his father&#8217;s killing but has yet to appear in public.<\/p>\n<p>Officials have said he was wounded in the air strikes but the severity of his injuries remains unclear.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-em-video\">\n<div class=\"m-em-video__title\">Why Iran&#8217;s unseen leader remains in the shadows<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-video-player o-video-player--16x9\" data-media-video-wbmz565192-f24-en-20260706 data-show-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ565192-F24-EN-20260706\" data-wrapper-video-player data-youtube-script>\n<div class=\"o-em-consent \">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-consent__content__text\">To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.<\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"accept\"><br \/>\n            Accept<\/p>\n<p>        <\/button><br \/>\n        <button class=\"a-link\" data-action=\"manage\">Manage my choices                <\/p>\n<p><\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock\" data-adblock-content>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-adblock__content__text\">One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.<\/p>\n<p>            <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"reload\">Try again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/326b82ae-788e-11f1-9265-005056a97e36\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/ANGL260705-1815-Live-CS1815.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/326b82ae-788e-11f1-9265-005056a97e36\/w:388\/p:16x9\/ANGL260705-1815-Live-CS1815.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/326b82ae-788e-11f1-9265-005056a97e36\/w:720\/p:16x9\/ANGL260705-1815-Live-CS1815.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/326b82ae-788e-11f1-9265-005056a97e36\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/ANGL260705-1815-Live-CS1815.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) calc(100vw - 32px), (max-width: 1076px) calc(100vw - 44px), 850px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"Why Iran's unseen leader remains in the shadows\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n    Cover image:                    \u00a9 France 24    <\/figcaption><div class=\"m-item-image__overlay-wrapper\">\n                <button class=\"m-main-media-btn\" aria-label=\"Why Iran's unseen leader remains in the shadows: Play the video\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"m-main-media-btn__picto\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-circle-loader\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><br \/>\n<time class=\"a-media-time\">16:58<\/time>                <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-hidden-video-player=\"WBMZ565192-F24-EN-20260706\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The new commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, Ahmad Vahidi, whose predecessor was killed on February 28, appeared at the funerals for a second time on Sunday, this time in the open air, after he went unseen throughout the war.<\/p>\n<p>Esmail Qaani, the shadowy head of the Guards&#8217; Quds Force \u2013 responsible for its foreign operations \u2013 also made a rare appearance.<\/p>\n<p>While Iranian authorities have been keen to present a united front, none of President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/masoud-pezeshkian\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Masoud Pezeshkian<\/a>&#8216;s surviving predecessors, who had tensions in their relationship with Khamenei, have so far been seen at the ceremonies.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Demand revenge&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>The government is also eager to tout the mass mobilisation in support of the authorities after mass protests in January that rights groups say were quelled by a crackdown that killed thousands of people.<\/p>\n<p>The Middle East war is on hold following a ceasefire and an initial accord struck with the US. Both Washington and Tehran have warned they are ready to resume military action, and vengeance has been a major theme at the funerals.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The killers (of Khamenei) must face punishment,&#8221; a 38-year-old man who gave his surname as Miremadi told AFP at the prayers on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We back our revolution and our leader, and we demand revenge for the blood of our loved ones,&#8221; said a woman, 39, with the surname Bakand.<\/p>\n<p>Khamenei long pursued a course of confrontation with the West, and Tehran for years has provided support to anti-US and anti-Israel armed groups around the Middle East, including Palestinian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Hamas<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/lebanon\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Lebanon<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hezbollah\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Hezbollah<\/a>, who both sent delegations to the ceremonies.<\/p>\n<p><em>(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"o-sidebar__aside\">\n<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container class=\"o-ad-container o-ad-container--box o-ad-container--with-shimmer\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__content o-ad-container__content--report-enabled\">\n<div class=\"o-ad-container__label m-block-ad__label--report-enabled\">\n                    <span class=\"o-ad-container__label__text\">Advertising<\/span><br \/>\n                                            <button title=\"Report this ad\" class=\"o-ad-container__content__report-link\" data-tms-ad-report><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__tags t-content__below-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"m-section-title m-section-title--small\">Keywords for this article<\/div>\n<ul class=\"m-tags-list\">\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/iran-conflict\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Iran war\">    Iran war<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/mojtaba-khamenei\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Mojtaba Khamenei\">    Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/ayatollah-ali-khamenei\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\">    Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/iran\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Iran\">    Iran<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/usa\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"USA\">    USA<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li class=\"m-tags-list__tag\">\n                <a href=\"\/en\/tag\/funeral\/\" class=\"a-hot-tag\" title=\"Funeral\">    Funeral<\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advertising Khamenei funeral procession begins in Tehran, draws massive crowds of mourners Middle East The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}