Mourners are seen outside the Grand Mosalla at the start of the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on July 4, 2026.
Thousands of mourners converged on Tehran’s Grand Mosalla prayer complex on Saturday to bid farewell to Iran’s slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with many chanting calls for revenge following his death in a US-Israeli attack.
The funeral drew huge crowds waving red flags, a Shiite symbol of vengeance, as Khamenei’s coffin, draped in the Iranian flag, was placed on a raised platform alongside the coffins of members of his family who were also killed in the strike.
Leading mourners, a eulogist declared, “We have come not for the funeral but for revenge,” adding, “We’re never going to give up your blood, which is the reddest line.”
Many attendees wept, beat their chests and moved through tight security to pay their final respects to the leader who ruled Iran for more than three decades.
Among them was 18-year-old student Hamidreza Shabani, who told AFP, “We must rise up and, God willing, avenge the blood of our leader.”
Portraits showing different stages of Khamenei’s life decorated the venue, while some mourners carried images of his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of public view since assuming leadership.
Supporters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement were also present, displaying the group’s yellow flag in a show of solidarity with the broader Iran-led “Axis of Resistance.”
Authorities enforced heavy security around the capital, with many mourners forced to park several kilometres away because of road closures, while volunteers distributed water and refreshments as temperatures climbed into the mid-30s Celsius.
The funeral came a day after memorial ceremonies attended by foreign delegations and follows Khamenei’s death at the age of 86 during the opening phase of the US-Israeli military campaign on February 28, which ignited a wider regional conflict.
Although the United States and Iran reached a preliminary agreement last month to halt the war, talks on a lasting peace are continuing amid intermittent exchanges of fire.
