Iran To Hold Dayslong Funeral For Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Months After His Death

Months after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war involving the United States and Israel, Iran will begin a dayslong funeral on Saturday, with ceremonies spanning Iran and neighbouring Iraq before his burial in the holy city of Mashhad.

The funeral, delayed while the conflict continued, is expected to test Iran’s ruling establishment as it seeks to demonstrate public support after months of unrest. According to Associated Press, the ceremonies will take place during an uneasy ceasefire period following an interim agreement with the United States, while concerns also remain over crowd safety given deadly stampedes at previous high-profile funerals.

The mourning period will see Khamenei’s body carried through cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Iran’s theocracy is expected to encourage the public, government employees and paramilitary forces to fill the streets in his honour.

Khamenei, who led Iran for nearly four decades, was killed on February 28 when the United States and Israel jointly launched the war. The funeral was postponed as the conflict continued.

A large turnout could also increase the risk of deadly stampedes. One occurred during the funeral of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, while another struck during the burial of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

According to Associated Press, the uneasy ceasefire period, together with an interim agreement with the United States, likely gave authorities the confidence to hold the funeral and allow senior officials to appear publicly. During the war, Israel killed several senior leaders, in at least one case using public appearances to track them.

It remains unclear whether Khamenei’s son and successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his first public appearance during the ceremonies. Believed to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father, he remains in hiding.

Khamenei’s body will lie in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, it will be carried through the streets of the capital before being taken to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, about 120 kilometres to the south. Ceremonies will continue there on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Khamenei’s body will be taken to Karbala in Iraq, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who has long been a symbol of resistance for the Shiite faithful. Wednesday also marks the anniversary of the protests against Khamenei’s rule, during which thousands were killed by security forces.

The body will then be taken to Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, where Khamenei will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine.

Associated Press reported that authorities said Khamenei would be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza, Shiite Islam’s eighth imam. Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine each year, and a hadith, or saying, states that anyone with sorrow or sin will find relief by visiting it. Many prominent Shiite clerics are buried there, as is Iran’s former President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024.

The funeral has drawn comparisons with that of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. On June 6, 1989, millions of Iranians gathered to bury the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ceremony descended into chaos as mourners surged towards the casket, causing the 86-year-old religious leader’s white-wrapped body to fall into the crowd. Initial reports said at least eight people were killed and about 11,000 others were injured.

There is concern that similar scenes could unfold if attendance at Khamenei’s funeral reaches into the millions. The funeral of Soleimani in 2020 ended in a stampede that killed at least 56 people and injured more than 2,000.

The ceremonies also come as the interim agreement reached in June faces fresh challenges. The deal created a 60-day window for negotiations on a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz.

Technical talks began in Qatar this week but have been complicated by deep disagreements, along with several days of crossfire between Iran and the United States over the future of the strategic waterway.

(With inputs from Associated Press)