Iran Warns U.S., Israel Against Attacks

Ahead of Funeral Processions for Khamenei

Report By Y-Trendz

Dubai, July 3, 2026 — Iran has issued a sharp warning to the United States and Israel not to attempt any attack during the elaborate, multi-day funeral processions being organised for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Tehran prepares for what officials say will be the largest state funeral in the country's history.

A senior Iranian military commander delivered the warning on Thursday, just days before the funeral rites begin. Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state media that Iran's enemies — "especially the U.S. and the Zionist regime" — should avoid any miscalculation and should reckon with the "harsh retaliation" Iran's armed forces would deliver in response to any threat or aggression against the country.

Context: A Leader Killed in the Opening Strike of the War

Khamenei was killed in Israeli airstrikes on February 28, in what marked the opening attack of the recent Iran war. His death, and the manner of it, has become central to how the Iranian state is now staging his funeral — not simply as a religious and political ritual, but as a national demonstration of defiance and unity. President Masoud Pezeshkian has described Khamenei's death as the beginning of a new chapter of national unity, resilience and growth, and has said the funeral would be used to project Iran's solidarity to the world. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has urged Iranians to turn out in large numbers, framing the processions as both a tribute to the late leader and a message that the country has not forgotten those killed during the conflict.

Timeline and Scale of the Funeral

Funeral processions are set to begin on July 4 in Tehran and will conclude on July 9 with Khamenei's burial in his hometown of Mashhad. Additional ceremonies are planned in between in the holy city of Qom and in Iraq. Officials expect the events to draw between 15 and 20 million mourners, which would make it the largest state funeral in Iran's history — surpassing even the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, who died in 1989 and whose burial was attended by millions of grieving Iranians in scenes of intense public mourning. Khamenei is only the second supreme leader Iran has ever buried.

To accommodate the scale of the events, Tehran, along with Qom and Mashhad, will observe public holidays for the duration. Authorities have ordered public and private offices in Tehran to close from Saturday through Monday, and traffic restrictions are expected to make much of the capital's city centre inaccessible to private vehicles. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation has also announced temporary airspace restrictions over several cities, including Tehran and Mashhad, for the duration of the ceremonies.

A Second, Parallel Warning

Thursday's warning from the military echoed a similar statement made a day earlier by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said Tehran would deliver an "immediate and powerful response" to any threat against its people or leadership. Araghchi's remarks came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran's current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — Ali Khamenei's son and successor — was "marked for death," a comment that appears to have sharpened Tehran's rhetoric in the run-up to the funeral.

Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly injured in the same strike that killed his father and has not been seen publicly since taking office. According to Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, the late Supreme Leader's representative in India, Mojtaba is unlikely to make a public appearance during the funeral despite wanting to meet mourners, as security officials have advised against it given the heightened threat environment.

Heightened Security and International Attendance

Iran has visibly reinforced security across the country ahead of the ceremonies. Military spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said additional troops have been deployed along the country's land and maritime borders, alongside intensified naval monitoring and air-defence surveillance. Iran's joint military command also separately warned that oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz must use approved routes or risk a "forceful response," a signal that tensions over the strategic waterway remain elevated even as a fragile ceasefire holds.

Despite the fraught security backdrop, Iran's Foreign Ministry says the funeral will draw official delegations from more than 30 countries, including India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Georgia and Cuba, along with religious leaders from roughly 90 countries. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said countries that supported or defended the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have not been invited.

The warnings come as mediators say indirect Iran-U.S. talks, held in Doha, have shown "positive progress," with the fragile ceasefire between the two sides continuing to hold for now. Whether that fragile calm survives the coming days of mass mourning — with millions expected on Iran's streets and heightened rhetoric on all sides — is likely to be closely watched by governments across the region.