Millions of mourners poured into Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran’s assassinated supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a powerful show of support for the Islamic Republic just seven months after deadly anti-government protests gripped the country.
Crowds moved from Revolution Square to Azadi Square after two days of funeral rites at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque. Many carried Iranian flags, portraits of Khamenei and banners bearing the slogan, “We will rise”, while others chanted as they made their way through the city.
“Mourning day is today. Martyr Khamenei is before God today,” mourners shouted.
Khamenei was killed in February in an Israeli bombing that sought to topple Iran’s government. Organisers expected Monday’s procession to last between 10 and 12 hours, making it the largest event of the mourning period after attendance at the mosque was restricted by capacity.
Grief mixed with anger during Sunday’s funeral ceremony. The words “Kill Trump” were written in chalk on the stage, reflecting calls from mourners for revenge following Khamenei’s assassination.
Iran’s leadership also gathered for morning prayers, although the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, did not attend. Officials said he stayed away because of security concerns rather than injuries reportedly sustained during an Israeli attack on the presidential building. His three brothers were present.
Despite the scale of the procession, authorities said it passed without fatalities, crediting extensive planning by state agencies and volunteers who fed and housed mourners. Previous state funerals in Iran have been marred by deadly crowd crushes.
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President Masoud Pezeshkian said the crowds had sent a message to the outside world, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s claim that the mourning amounted to “fake tears”.
“If I want to say something, only a few Persian speakers will understand it, but the behaviour and presence of the people are understood by the whole world,” Pezeshkian said.
He added: “This greatness, these tears that flow from the eyes of girls, men, and children, is not something that can be created by order. Tears arise from the pain and sorrow that surges within a person, and the world sees this truth.”
More than 300 foreign journalists were granted visas to cover the funeral.
Pezeshkian insisted the gathering was not simply a farewell to the country’s longtime leader.
“I do not accept the interpretation of farewell. It is a covenant for continuing on the path. This is not actually a farewell but rather a pact to continue on the path.”
He also accused Israel of committing “all the crimes that are taking place in the region … with the support of the United States and European countries”.
– Reporting by news agencies.
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