Special Report: Millions Expected

as Iran Holds Week-Long State Funeral for Ali Khamenei

Special Report By Y-Trendz

Tehran, July 4, 2026 — Iran has begun a seven-day series of state funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an event authorities say will draw millions of mourners and delegations from more than 100 countries, four months after he was killed in the opening strike of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

A Leader Killed at the Start of a War

Khamenei, 86, died on February 28 when Israeli forces, acting with U.S. support, struck his compound on the first day of a joint military campaign against Iran. Also killed in the attack were several of his family members, including his daughter, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law, and his young granddaughter. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was reportedly wounded in the same strike and has since been formally installed as Iran's new supreme leader, though he has not appeared publicly or spoken since, communicating only through written statements. Iranian officials have said his appearance at the funeral procession remains undecided and rests with his office.

The funeral had originally been planned for March but was postponed as the war continued. It is now proceeding after President Trump and mediators from Qatar and Pakistan reported progress in indirect talks between Washington and Tehran over a memorandum of understanding governing a fragile ceasefire.

Ceremonies Across Five Cities, Two Countries

The commemoration formally opened on Friday at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, the vast prayer complex Khamenei used for major addresses during his 37-year rule. His casket, along with those of his relatives killed alongside him, lay in state as scholars, officials, and mourners filed past to pay their respects.

Organizers describe the logistics as among the largest in the Islamic Republic's history. Iranian authorities have installed thousands of overhead water sprinklers to help mourners cope with summer heat, opened more than 700 temporary parking areas, and closed Tehran's airports intermittently throughout the proceedings. National holidays have been declared in the cities the funeral procession will pass through, and Iranian media report that tens of millions of loaves of bread are being baked to feed the crowds.

The proceedings are expected to move through Tehran and Qom before briefly crossing into Iraq on July 8, with a final burial ceremony planned for July 9 at the Imam Ali Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei's birthplace. Organizers and independent observers say the scale could rival or exceed the funeral of Khamenei's predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989, which drew an estimated 10 million mourners.

Foreign Delegations Arrive Amid Selective Invitations

Friday's ceremony was set aside specifically for visiting dignitaries, with Iranian state media reporting that representatives from more than 100 countries had been invited, including heads of state, prime ministers, and parliamentary speakers. Confirmed attendees include Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Turkmenistan's National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, alongside delegations from China, India, Afghanistan, and Namibia. Notably, Al Jazeera reported that European countries seen as having backed the Israeli-U.S. military campaign were not extended invitations.

Iranian officials framed the foreign turnout as a show of international solidarity with Tehran following the war, describing Khamenei in state messaging as a "martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution."

Security Warnings and Underlying Tensions

The funeral takes place under heavy security, with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and military commanders publicly warning the United States and Israel against any strikes during the ceremonies. Tensions have been further strained by a reported remark from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz describing the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as "marked for death," which Iranian officials have cited as grounds to reconsider commitments made under the ceasefire-linked nuclear memorandum.

Iran's parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator with Washington, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has publicly called for mass turnout at the funeral, casting it as a moment for national unity and defiance following the war. Analysts note that the scale of mourning being organized by the state, coupled with the circumstances of Khamenei's death, has elevated his symbolic standing among his supporters. At the same time, some residents of Tehran have told reporters that daily hardships — including long fuel queues — and simple indifference mean not all Iranians plan to attend, with some instead leaving the capital during the holiday period.

A Fragile Diplomatic Backdrop

The funeral coincides with a pause in U.S.-Iran diplomacy, with both sides having recently sent negotiators to Doha for indirect talks. It also falls during the Islamic month of Muharram, a period of mourning in Shia tradition, and overlaps with the United States' 250th Independence Day celebrations — timing that regional commentators have described as symbolically significant, given the state of hostilities between the two countries.

As the week of ceremonies continues, attention will remain on whether Mojtaba Khamenei appears in public for the first time since the February strikes, and on whether the ceasefire holds through a period that Iranian officials have cast as a test of the country's resolve.