Ali Khamenei's funeral begins in Iran 4 months after death in US and Israeli attack

Iran plans three-day funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began this Thursday (2), Iranian state media reported. Images of the coffin's arrival at a Shiite religious hall were shown by news agencies. The ceremony takes place four months after Khamenei's death, in an attack by Israel and the United States.
✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp
The news agency Mehr News stated that the first ceremony was held near Imam Khomeini's Husseiniya, in Tehran. According to the organization, the farewell was held in the presence of Khamenei's coffin.
According to Eiman Atarzadeh, spokesman for the committee responsible for the funeral, the event took place after sunset and evening prayers and brought together family members of those killed in the Iran-Iraq War, members of the supreme leader's office and members of the Revolutionary Guard.
The clerics who rule Iran prepare days of funeral ceremonies for Khamenei. The expectation is to gather crowds to demonstrate support for the Islamic Republic and reinforce that the regime's revolutionary fervor is still alive.
After the indoor ceremonies, large processions are planned in Qom and Mashhad, as well as tributes in Iraq.
"The great public participation in the funeral procession of the martyred leader and the other martyrs will be, in practice, another referendum for the Islamic Republic", declared Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi, leader of the Friday prayer in Qom, told state media.
If authorities are indeed treating the funeral as a referendum, they do not intend to leave the outcome to chance.
The government wants to mobilize millions of supporters in cities across the country. To this end, he organized transportation, accommodation and food. The objective is to display the strength of the theocratic state after surviving what it considers an existential war.
Ali Khamenei's coffin in a funeral ceremony in Iran, on July 2, 2026
Mehr News
Khamenei's death and the succession of his son, Mojtaba, as Iran's third supreme leader mark a historic moment in the 47 years of the Islamic Republic. Mojtaba, who was seriously injured in the attack that killed his father, has not appeared in public since the start of the war.
Despite the regime's planned show of unity, analysts say popular support for the Islamic Republic has been weakening.
Many Iranians are tired of decades of sanctions that suffocate the country's economy. They also criticize the repression imposed in the name of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an episode of which only the elderly, in a mostly young population, have memories.
During the protests against inflation held in December and January, protesters even shouted slogans calling for Khamenei's death. According to reports, the authorities suppressed the protests with gunfire, leaving thousands of protesters injured.
In the first days of the war, when news about Khamenei's death began to circulate, residents of Tehran reported sounds of celebration coming from houses and apartments in some areas of the city.
Now, the capital is experiencing an atmosphere of tension and silence. The scene contrasts with the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution. At the time, millions of people followed the procession in tears. Part of the crowd even climbed into the ambulance carrying the body.
Amid the commotion, one of Khomeini's legs appeared from beneath his shroud as members of the Revolutionary Guard tried to control the crowd.
Samira, 35, the wife of a restaurant owner in Tehran, said the family did not intend to participate in the ceremonies and planned to leave the city for a week.
"It's as if life has stopped and there are basijis everywhere," she said, referring to the volunteer militia organization affiliated with the Guard Revolutionary.
READ ALSO
Football player and his mother are found dead after earthquakes in Venezuela
'Café dos Losers': café offers free drinks to console fans of teams eliminated from the World Cup
Teenager accuses social networks of causing depression; TikTok strikes deal before trial
A member of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada stands guard in front of a mural depicting Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani
VIDEOS: g1's most watched

Source: G1