Iran has begun several days of public mourning for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes in February.
Officials told AFP that the funeral in Tehran could draw as many as 20 million mourners and expect the public turnout to be a “referendum” for the Islamic Republic.
The regime’s ruling clerics are preparing days of mass funeral rites for Khamenei. Funeral events will begin over the weekend in Tehran, followed by mass processions next week in Qom and Masshad and ceremonies in Iraq.
"The large public turnout at the funeral procession of the martyred leader and the other martyrs will, in effect, be another referendum for the Islamic Republic," Qom Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi declared to state media.
Iran has warned Donald Trump and Israel not to launch strikes during the state funeral.
Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the “enemies of Iran” should avoid a “miscalculation” or else face harsh retaliation.
Read MoreHow Iran will try to use Khamenei’s funeral to hide cracks in regime
Huge crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran’s capital
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Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iranian jail
Key Points
- Iran's new supreme leader avoids father's funeral in fear of assassination by Israel- reports
- Trump says Tehran given 'week off' for Khamenei funeral
- Small coffin of Khamenei's granddaughter placed at funeral
- Foreign leaders attend Khamenei funeral
- Iran hits back at Trump's remark about Tehran's need for US food
- Mourners gather to pay respects to slain leader
'We have a blood feud with the US'
22:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain"Everyone here has come to avenge the blood of their supreme leader," Arash Rahimi, 40, told Reuters in the crowd.
"As our leader has said, we have a blood feud with the United States. Our relations with the United States will never be good."
The funeral is taking place at a critical moment for Iran, with its clerical rulers, backed by the military, buoyed from having survived the onslaught with their ruling system intact.
The war has been paused for a ceasefire under an agreement with Washington that the authorities say will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over a superpower.
Some in the crowd of mourners suggested they were ready for compromise.
"The United States ... wants certain things. We should give some things, otherwise they blow up our officials in the air," mourner Fattah Bayaz, 63, told Reuters.
Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iranian jail
21:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainFears are growing for a British couple detained in Iran who have not eaten in nearly two months after their contact with family was cut off.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both 53, have been on hunger strike for 55 and 46 days respectively in protest at their treatment inside Iran’s notorious Evin prison.
The couple were arrested on a once-in-a-lifetime world motorbike tour 18 months ago, and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they completely deny.
Crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports:
Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iran jail
How Iran will try to use Khamenei’s funeral to hide cracks in regime
20:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainIran is keen to present a unified front for the late supreme leader’s funeral, even as analysts warn support for the clerical leadership is waning, writes James C. Reynolds:
Iran claims as many as 20 million people are expected to attend processions across the country in the coming days for the delayed mass funeral rites of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike.
The regime will frame such a show of public devotion as proof of their resilience after surviving what they saw as an existential war with the United States and Israel.
However, the supreme leader’s injured son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei is not expected to attend as security concerns hang over the ceremony.
How Iran will try to use Khamenei’s funeral to hide cracks in regime
‘Send them to Iran’: Trump spokeswoman issues dire assessment of ‘lazy’ Gen Zers
19:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivered a damning assessment of her fellow Gen Zers, calling them “lazy” and suggesting they should be shipped off to serve in Cuba or Iran.
Leavitt, who has just returned from two months’ maternity leave following the birth in May of her second child, agreed with Fox News host Jesse Watters that younger adults have “never had real jobs and they’re complaining things are expensive in the U.S.”
Watters was discussing the sweep of young, Democratic leftist candidates in the recent primary elections, whom President Donald Trump has labeled “communists.”
‘Send them to Iran’: Trump spokeswoman issues dire assessment of ‘lazy’ Gen Zers
What did the late Ali Khamenei symbolise?
18:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainIn Iran's theocratic system, Khamenei was not only head of state and leader of a revolutionary movement, but the earthly representative for Shi'ite Islam's 12th imam, who disappeared in the ninth century.
His death in an enemy attack plays into a powerful Shi'ite tradition of martyrdom and mourning. Khamenei's coffin was unveiled late on Thursday.
On Friday the coffin was laid in state in the great prayer hall built to honour his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The coffin will remain in the Mosalla until Sunday evening.
Burials are meant to be conducted within a day of death in Islam, but because of the risks of holding a big funeral during the war it was postponed until after last month's interim truce deal was agreed.
After what authorities are billing as a massive procession in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom, the centre of Iran's Shi'ite hierarchy, for ceremonies on Tuesday.
Ceremonies will then be held in Iraq's shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, with prominent attendees from Iran's regional network of Shi'ite proxies.
He will be buried on Thursday, after another procession, in Mashhad near the tomb of the Imam Reza, a figure of great devotion in Iran.
Authorities plan to mobilise millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging to buoy the numbers and encourage more of Iran's population of over 90 million to attend commemorations.
In pictures: Thousands fill the streets of Tehran for Ayotallah's funeral
17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Critical moment for Iran as funeral takes place
16:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThe funeral is taking place at a critical moment for Iran, where the clerical rulers backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are buoyed from surviving what they saw as an existential war against their most powerful foes.
But behind the veneer of unity and devotion, public support for the Islamic Republic has worn paper thin, analysts say. Mojtaba Khamenei, who has long been close to Iran's elite IRGC, has not been seen in any new image since being wounded in the strike that killed his father.
Thousands of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit a range of military targets, energy and civilian infrastructure during weeks of war that began with the killing of Khamenei on February 28.
The attacks killed more than 3,000 people in Iran, according to state media. Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S. bases, missiles fired towards Israel and a series of hits on energy targets in Gulf Arab states, while choking oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 13 U.S. troops have been killed.
Thousands more people have been killed across the region in the fallout from the war, notably in Lebanon where Israel continues to fight the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
Israeli attacks and demolitions have flattened vast swathes of civilian areas in southern Lebanon.
Iran's new supreme leader avoids father's funeral in fear of assassination by Israel- reports
15:06 , Maryam Zakir-HussainIranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been spotted at the funeral ceremony for his late father today.
It is understood that the new supreme leader’s request to attend the processions was rejected by Iran’s security officials due to fears Israel will kill him or track him down.
The New York Times cited two unnamed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members and a person involved with planning the multi-day funeral.
Huge crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran’s capital
14:38 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThousands of people gathered at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Saturday, July 4, to pay their respects during a public farewell ceremony for Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli airstrikes in February.
Mourners wept, beat their chests and waved flags as the flag-draped coffins of Khamenei and members of his family killed in the same attack were placed in state at the mosque.
Iran has organised a week of funeral ceremonies and public processions for Khamenei.
Public farewell events are scheduled for 4 and 5 July, followed by the main funeral procession in Tehran on 6 July.
Huge crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran’s capital
What is going on behind the political scenes of the Ayotallah's funeral
13:48 , Maryam Zakir-HussainThe delayed ceremony for the former supreme leader now serves as a critical test for Iran’s embattled theocracy, testing its capacity to mobilise widespread public support- particularly as the event unfolds six months after security forces brutally suppressed nationwide protests against Ali Khamenei’s rule.
A significant turnout, while desired by the regime, also carries the inherent risk of deadly stampedes.
Such tragedies have marred previous high-profile funerals, including that of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
An uneasy ceasefire, recently cemented by an interim agreement with the United States, is believed to have provided authorities with the confidence to proceed with the ceremony, which will involve the public appearance of top officials.
Throughout the war, Israel targeted and killed senior Iranian leaders, in at least one instance leveraging public appearances to track them.
How Trump’s Iran peace process descended into chaos in a week
13:24 , Maryam Zakir-HussainTwo weeks into the 60-day peace negotiation period between Iran and the United States and - despite President Donald Trump’s claims of success - little progress has been made.
Instead, both sides appear to be regressing: hostilities have flared and officials from both sides are no longer directly talking to each other as the clock keeps ticking and key issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, remain unresolved.
Read more here:
Iran peace process descends into farce as ‘talks about talks’ end in stalemate
Iran war has created growing rift between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince: report
13:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainA widening rift has opened up between Saudi Arabia and the United States because of the war in Iran, a report claims.
Officials told the Wall Street Journal the partnership between Washington and Riyadh is souring over disputes on how President Donald Trump has handled the war, which began after joint US-Israel strikes on Iran in February.
The US is reportedly now considering reducing its military presence in Saudi Arabia and instead putting its forces in countries it feels were more supportive during the war, including Israel and Jordan, according to the WSJ.
Iran war has created growing rift between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince: report
'Let us wail'
12:45 , Maryam Zakir-HussainAfter a day of Khamenei lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, his coffin, and those of several family members killed in the same airstrike, were brought to an outdoor stage for the general public to view from a distance, television footage showed.
Mourners filed into the vast courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, beating their chests, wailing and waving the banners of the Islamic Republic and historic Shi'ite Muslim martyrs.
Women dressed in black chadors wore white visors or held umbrellas to shield from the hot mid-morning sun.
"Let us wail!" a compere encouraged the crowds through a loudspeaker.
"Everybody chant oppressed, everyone say Hussein," he said, invoking Shi'ite traditions of sacrifice, including that of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein.
On cue, the crowds wailed and chanted. The Israeli strike that killed Khamenei also killed his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, according to Iranian state media.
Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iranian jail
12:20 , Maryam Zakir-HussainFears are growing for a British couple detained in Iran who have not eaten in nearly two months after their contact with family was cut off.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both 53, have been on hunger strike for 55 and 46 days respectively in protest at their treatment inside Iran’s notorious Evin prison.
The couple were arrested on a once-in-a-lifetime world motorbike tour 18 months ago, and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they completely deny.
UN human rights experts have demanded their urgent release, and warned that their incarceration raises grave concerns about state hostage-taking, adding that their hunger strike has reached the stage of a “medical emergency”.
Read the exclusive from crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin here:
Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iran jail
Watch: Thousands pay tribute to Khamenei in Tehran during public farewell ceremony
12:02 , Maryam Zakir-HussainPowerful general in Iran emerges from hiding as Tehran prepares for Khamenei's dayslong funeral
11:39 , Maryam Zakir-HussainA powerful general who leads Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged from hiding as Tehran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran's theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader's former home in downtown Tehran.
Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say.
He is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being reportedly wounded in the Feb. 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.
Powerful general in Iran emerges from hiding as Tehran prepares for Khamenei's dayslong funeral
How Iran will try to use Khamenei’s funeral to hide cracks in regime
11:20 , Maryam Zakir-HussainIran is keen to present a unified front for the late supreme leader’s funeral, even as analysts warn support for the clerical leadership is waning, writes James C. Reynolds:
Iran claims as many as 20 million people are expected to attend processions across the country in the coming days for the delayed mass funeral rites of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike.
The regime will frame such a show of public devotion as proof of their resilience after surviving what they saw as an existential war with the United States and Israel.
They hope to mobilise the public to flood the cities, offering transport, food and accommodation to lift the numbers, and are welcoming foreign dignitaries to show Iran still has powerful friends around.
Read more here:
How Iran will try to use Khamenei’s funeral to hide cracks in regime
Khamenei will be buried Thursday in Mashhad
11:01 , Maryam Zakir-HussainAyotallah Khamenei’s body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq.
Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which will end Thursday as he's buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei's place of birth.
Authorities offered no immediate attendance count for the event Saturday, which saw the crowds cycle in and out of the Grand Mosalla and the surrounding streets.
Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.
On Sunday, a prayer for the dead is planned at the Grand Mosalla.
On Monday, his body and those of his family will be taken through the streets of Tehran, which likely will draw large crowds.
“I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei,” said a weeping Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral alongside her mother.
“I never expected to see such a day. I wish I had died before this tragedy.”
'This is a serious warning': Iran's chief negotiator sends message to Starmer and Macron
10:43 , Maryam Zakir-HussainAs the ceremony went on, Iran's chief negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi criticized a joint statement overnight from Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, which suggested their militaries stood ready to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.
Control of the strait has been a major point of leverage for Iran, which has suggested it wants to charge vessels passing through it, upending decades of the world considering it an international waterway.
“The security of Hormuz lies with the coastal states — the crisis-makers will be held accountable for the consequences of their adventurism,” Gharibabadi wrote on X. “This is a serious warning.”
تنگه هرمز میدان نمایش نظامی قدرتهای فرامنطقهای نیست. ایران بهعنوان قدرت مسئول و ضامن امنیت تنگه، نسبت به هر حرکت نظامی در این آبراه حساس هشدار میدهد. امنیت هرمز با دولتهای ساحلی است؛ بحرانسازان مسئول پیامدهای ماجراجویی خود خواهند بود؛ این هشدار جدی است. pic.twitter.com/v9n2GdHnb6
— Gharibabadi (@Gharibabadi) July 4, 2026
Funeral crowds chant: 'Death to America. Death to Israel'
10:22 , Maryam Zakir-HussainIran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the US, to begin the funeral.
While authorities did not acknowledge the timing, crowds at the ceremony in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!”
The refrain has been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.
They also cried: “Death to Israel!”
The American president was not forgotten in Tehran.
In the crowd in Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large flag that read: “#KillTrump.”
In pictures: Grieving crowds gather to pay respects to late supreme leader
09:46 , Maryam Zakir-HussainHere are some of the latest photos from the funeral in Tehran today:
Mourners fill the streets of Tehran
08:51 , Maryam Zakir-HussainMourners thronged a vast prayer complex in Tehran on Saturday as the week-long funeral ceremonies of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began with the national anthem, religious eulogies and readings from the Quran.
Television footage showed his coffin draped with the Iranian flag and topped with his black turban.
It was placed, along with four other coffins of his slain family members, on a large black platform that resembled the Kaaba, representing Islam's holiest site in Mecca.
The vast courtyard of the complex, the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, was filled with mourners, many waving Iranian flags and carrying photographs of the slain leader.
In Video: Ali Khamenei's funeral begins in Tehran
08:30 , Vishwam SankaranSmall coffin of Khamenei's granddaughter placed at funeral
08:00 , Vishwam SankaranA casket containing the body of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei was placed alongside the coffins of his relatives killed in US-Israeli airstrikes in February, including a small coffin of his 14-month-old granddaughter.
Un cadre du cercueil de la martyre Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, #petite-fille du Guide suprême martyr de la Révolution islamique, à la Mosalla de #Téhéran.#بدرقه_آقای_شهید_ایران#باید_برخاست#NousDevonsNousSoulever#MartyrKhamenei pic.twitter.com/8JemW4zW4A
— Iran en France (@IRANinFRANCE) July 3, 2026
Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani's small coffin was draped in the Iranian national flag, with her framed photo next to it.
Six days of public funeral ceremonies have been planned, with Khamenei's remains expected to be carried across cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq.
Video: Foreign leaders attend Khamenei funeral
07:30 , Vishwam SankaranLeaders from Pakistan, Turkey, and Russia arrived at Tehran to pay their respects to the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Some in attendance were Russian security council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish vice president Cevdet Yilmaz, Iraqi president Nizar Amidi, Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistani senate chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani and army chief Asim Munir
Caskets of Khamenei and his family unveiled
07:00 , Vishwam SankaranThe casket of slain Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and those of his family members killed in US airstrike in February were unveiled inside a glass case before weeping mourners in Tehran today.
Iranian state television broadcast showed the casket being unveiled as thousands of grieving people gathered at Tehran's Grand Mosalla religious complex.
Videos broadcast by the state news channel show thousands dressed in black packing the streets, waving Iranian flags and other banners.
Several carried red banners, a symbol associated with calls for revenge, chanting “death to America” and “revenge, revenge”, AFP reported.
Tehran given 'week off' for Khamenei funeral, Trump says
06:30 , Vishwam SankaranIn a speech at Mount Rushmore yesterday, president Donald Trump bragged that the US "knocked the hell out of Iran" and "gave them a week off" to mourn the slain late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
"They’re dying to settle; they want to settle so badly," he said at the speech marking the 250th anniversary celebrations of the US.
“We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice,” Trump said.
In Pictures: Mourners gather to pay respects to slain leader
06:00 , Vishwam Sankaran
