Jon Gambrell and Nasser Karimi
Tehran: Iran has begun a series of elaborate events to mourn and bury its late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across the capital, Tehran, urging people to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
Khamenei’s casket has gone on display at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, a large prayer complex where the supreme leader gave many important addresses during his reign. According to state news outlets, his flag-draped coffin was flanked by those of other family members killed alongside him.
It is unclear whether Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since he was chosen as supreme leader in March, will appear publicly at any of the funeral events.
State television showed people rallying by night in various Iranian cities on Friday (Saturday AEST), chanting slogans in support of the country’s theocracy and against America and Israel.
The government expects to see millions flood the streets of Tehran from Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
That could provide a boost for Iran’s government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the US over a permanent end to the war, and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.
A powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged publicly for the first time in months for the funeral. Other top government officials will probably also be on hand, alongside foreign dignitaries, in a show of strength by Iran.
“As long as these people, who are chosen (by God), are on the field, we will definitely continue the same ‘no to humiliation’ policy that was founded by the Islamic Republic,” said Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, a volunteer preparing for the funeral on Friday.
“We will continue our policy of pursuing independence, and decisions will be made inside the country, and the people will decide their own fate,” he said.
Caskets displayed
The dead being honoured alongside Khamenei include a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Mojtaba Khamenei, the latter reportedly seriously injured and still in hiding months after the February 28 attack.
Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries walked up to Khamenei’s casket as a military band played or a man sang prayers. Iran’s parliamentary Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, key leaders in the country’s civilian government, all paid their respects.
Video published by Iranian state media showed an earlier mourning ceremony on Thursday night (Iranian time) for Khamenei.
The black-clad mourners, whom state media identified as belonging to families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
Later, state media showed images of Khamenei’s casket draped by a red flag with white calligraphy reading “Ya Hussein”, a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It had been flying over the Imam Hussein golden-domed shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolises both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.
Top general resurfaces
Photos published online by Iranian state media showed General Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting on Thursday about the funeral of Khamenei, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller service for him on Thursday night near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.
“They must know that the pure blood of our martyred imam will mark another turning point in the victories of beloved Islam across the global arena,” Vahidi told state television.
“They will take to their graves the wish to see this nation surrender. This nation will rise higher day by day through this pure blood.”
Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the US, experts say. He had not been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began. Israel killed top leaders in Iran’s military and government during the war and has threatened the life of the new supreme leader too. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.
It remains unclear whether Khamenei will appear at his father’s funeral. His father appeared in 1989 at Ayatollah Khomeini’s funeral, weeping visibly, as he began his journey to lead Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.
Israel’s repeated threats to kill Khamenei drew a warning from Iran’s joint military command on Thursday, which told Israel and the US “to avoid any miscalculation” over the coming days.
Funeral to last for days
Khamenei’s official funeral is expected to last for several days, with his body being transported to cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Authorities plan to shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate his life.
In the Iranian capital, images of the late Khamenei’s fist could be seen on banners and on a giant statue in Enghelab Square, framed by what appeared to be ballistic missiles flying through the air.
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.”
“This fist is the clenched fist of all of us Muslims,” taxi driver Jafar Javadi said.
“The leader’s fist is a sign all our fists are clenched, and they [the enemies] will be destroyed with these fists, God willing. We will continue chanting death to America and death to Israel with the same clenched fist.”
