Iranian Leaders Reappear at Khamenei Funeral as Calls to Kill Trump Grow

Iran's top political and military leadership reappeared in public on Sunday for funeral prayers for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, marking their first major public appearance since the Iran war and signalling growing confidence in their security even as calls intensified for the killing of US President Donald Trump.

The appearance of senior officials and the brothers of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, before hundreds of thousands of mourners in Tehran would have been unthinkable during the conflict, which began with Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28 that killed the 86-year-old Khamenei, members of his family and several senior officials.

During the war, Israel also targeted officials who appeared in public, in at least one instance apparently using a public appearance to identify a target for an airstrike.

Mojtaba Khamenei was absent from the funeral, who is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the strike that killed his father. Israel has threatened to target him as well while he oversees negotiations with the United States on a permanent end to the war and disputes over Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route.

"I heard the call for revenge, but our leader should say what we need to do," said Ziba Naderi, a 42-year-old nurse attending the funeral. "And we must listen to him."

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led funeral prayers at Tehran's Grand Mosalla for Khamenei and his family members.

Among those attending were Khamenei's sons Masoud, Meysam and Mostafa, who had not been seen publicly since the war. Also present were Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, making only his second public appearance since the conflict, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Esmail Qaani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force.

Their appearance came amid banners, posters and graffiti calling for the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mohammad Rasouli, a poet who served as master of ceremonies before the prayers, led chants of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!"

Addressing the crowd, Rasouli asked, referring to Trump, "Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?"

The remark drew loud cheers from mourners, who again applauded when Rasouli said "the world is no longer a good place for" Trump. It marked the first direct public threat against Trump made by an official during the funeral ceremonies.

Trump was speaking in Washington during celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

"We've had tremendous success," Trump said about the US military. "You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We wiped it out, wiped out their military."

Attendance at Sunday's funeral was significantly larger than on the previous day, with mourners dressed in black carrying portraits of Khamenei alongside banners calling for revenge and for Trump's killing.

US authorities have monitored Iranian threats against Trump and other former and current administration officials for years, largely stemming from Trump's 2020 order to kill Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the longtime commander of the Quds Force.

Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to assassinate Trump, although hardline propaganda has frequently portrayed him as a target. During the recent war, Trump also threatened to destroy Iran's civilisation as tensions between the two countries escalated.