Iran prepares massive multi-day funeral for late supreme leader Khamenei amid tensions

Tehran: Iran is preparing for a large-scale, days-long funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Authorities expect millions of mourners to take part in ceremonies beginning Saturday.

Banners across the capital have called on citizens to show support for the Islamic Republic, as the country emerges from a devastating war that officials say claimed the life of the 86-year-old cleric. The planned funeral is expected to mirror the massive public turnout seen during the 1989 burial of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Officials say the ceremonies could serve as a show of strength for Iran’s leadership, particularly as it continues to navigate post-war tensions and negotiations with the United States over a possible permanent end to hostilities. Concerns remain over the possibility of renewed Israeli strikes.

A senior Revolutionary Guard commander also appeared publicly for the first time in months during funeral preparations. Other officials and foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the memorial events in Tehran.

Mourning ceremonies held in Tehran

Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin was placed at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where it lay alongside family members killed in an Israeli airstrike during the opening moments of the war on February 28.

Those being honoured include his son-in-law, eldest daughter, 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries were seen approaching the coffin as a military band played and prayers were sung.

Iranian state media also released video footage of an earlier mourning ceremony held Thursday night, where black-clad mourners- identified as families of those killed in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war- threw scarves and personal items toward the coffin, a traditional practice believed to bring blessings.

State media further showed images of the coffin draped with a red flag bearing white calligraphy reading “Ya Hussein”, a Shiite phrase commemorating the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. The flag, previously flown over the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, Iraq, is also widely seen as symbolising both unjustly spilled blood and a call for vengeance.

Gen Ahmad Vahidi reappears amid funeral preparations

Photos released by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting on Thursday related to Khamenei’s funeral. He was later seen sitting beside the coffin during a smaller memorial service held near the former supreme leader’s residence in central Tehran.

Vahidi, described by experts as a key figure in shaping Iran’s hardline approach in talks aimed at a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, had not been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the conflict began. Israel is reported to have killed several senior Iranian military and political leaders during the war and has also issued threats against Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small inner circle in contact with the younger Khamenei.

Tensions remain high, with Israel repeatedly threatening to target Mojtaba Khamenei. The warnings prompted a strong response from Iran’s joint military command on Thursday.

"We warn the enemies of a strong Iran, especially the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional and extra-regional accomplices, to avoid any miscalculation and to consider the harsh and regret-inducing responses that the sons of the Iranian nation in the armed forces will give to any threat or aggression against our beloved country," the military command said.

Funeral to go on for days

Beginning Saturday, Iran will hold the days-long funeral for Khamenei, and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Authorities plan to shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei.

In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei's fist could be seen in banners and in a giant statue in Tehran's Enghelab Square. In his first message to the nation, read by a state television anchor, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father's body after his death with a raised, clenched fist.

The banners read in Arabic, English and Farsi: "We must rise”.

AP