{"id":128694,"date":"2026-07-04T12:04:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=128694"},"modified":"2026-07-04T12:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:04:22","slug":"huge-crowds-gather-in-iran-as-funeral-ceremonies-for-assassinated-supreme-leader-begin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128694\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge crowds gather in Iran as funeral ceremonies for assassinated supreme leader begin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web desk(National Times)- Funeral ceremonies for Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei \u2014 who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the Middle East conflict \u2014 officially began on Saturday, state television reported, an event drawing thousands and intended to serve as a show of strength to the Islamic republic\u2019s foes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iranian authorities said they anticipate between 15 and 20 million participants in Tehran alone over the next three days for tributes to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Six days of funeral ceremonies are planned to commemorate Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic republic as its number one from 1989 until his&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1976870\">assassination<\/a>&nbsp;aged 86 on the first day of the US-Israeli&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/live\/iran-israel-war\">war<\/a>&nbsp;on Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The events will be scrutinised in particular for any signs of Khamenei\u2019s son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named supreme leader a week after the killing of his father but is yet to appear in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thousands of mourners carrying red banners gathered in the courtyard of Tehran\u2019s vast Grand Mosalla religious complex, waiting for the arrival of Khamenei\u2019s coffin.People attend a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran July 4, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chants of \u201cdeath to America\u201d and \u201crevenge, revenge\u201d echoed at the venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe came (to the funeral) because we promised the supreme leader we would stand by him to the very end,\u201d 37-year-old university professor Reza, who gave only one name, told&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor a long time, we shouted that we would sacrifice our lives for the leader, but it was he who sacrificed himself for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Javad Akbari, 43, a food-processing plant worker, said: \u201cI never had the chance to see the supreme leader up close, and I regret that. Today, I have come to bid him a final farewell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;journalist saw mourners walking several kilometres to reach the venue. Hundreds of supporters of the Islamic republic had begun arriving on Friday evening outside the Grand Mosalla.People gather for a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran on July 4, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want to say a final goodbye to our leader, which is why waiting like this isn\u2019t painful or difficult for us,\u201d Somayye Hamedi told&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Significant security measures have been imposed, with roads blocked and airspace expected to be closed for what is set to be the largest-scale public event in Iran since the burial of Khamenei\u2019s predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.Security personnel stand guard as mourners gather at the start of the funeral ceremonies of Iran\u2019s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on July 4, 2026. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2012913\/huge-crowds-gather-in-iran-as-funeral-ceremonies-for-assassinated-supreme-leader-begin#final-goodbye\"><\/a>\u2018Final goodbye\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coffin will lie in state until Monday, when a procession will pass through Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, it will move to the clerical hub of Qom, before moving on Wednesday to cities holy to Shia Muslims in neighbouring Iraq, then proceeding for burial on Thursday in Khamenei\u2019s home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials who survived the war showed their grief and displayed a united front on Friday, with parliament speaker and top negotiator in the US talks Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visibly tearful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Top Iranian officials paying their respects included Ahmad Vahidi, who was named chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor was assassinated in the same strikes that killed Khamenei, but had not been seen since.People attend a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran July 4, 2026. \u2014 Reuters<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coming days will be closely watched for signs of Mojtaba Khamenei, who has communicated only by written statements and is said to have been wounded in the same strikes, though the extent of his injuries was never made clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other relatives killed in the strikes will also be buried, including Ali Khamenei\u2019s infant granddaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">International guests paying respects on Friday included Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been mediating between Iran and the US, and Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Russian security council, who attended on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.Mourners gather at the Grand Mosalla to pay their final respects to Iran\u2019s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of his funeral ceremonies in Tehran on July 4, 2026. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hamas and Hezbollah were also represented, as was the Taliban government in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2012913\/huge-crowds-gather-in-iran-as-funeral-ceremonies-for-assassinated-supreme-leader-begin#call-for-vengeance\"><\/a>\u2018Call for vengeance\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After five weeks of fighting, the Middle East conflict is on hold following an initial&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2008730\">accord<\/a>&nbsp;between Iran and the United States. But Iranian officials have warned Tehran is ready to resume fighting if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe nation\u2019s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world,\u201d said Ghalibaf, who urged Iranians to turn out en masse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army chief Amir Hatami vowed Israel and the US \u201cwill pay for the blood of the martyred leader and all the nation\u2019s martyrs\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But authorities will also want the event to go smoothly, deeply aware of the risk of crowd crushes that have marred similar events in the past. TV broadcasting guidelines on how to stay safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With temperatures well over 35 degrees Celsius expected over the next few days in Tehran, tankers were stationed to spray water on the roads to cool down attendees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of the ceremonies,&nbsp;<em>AFP<\/em>&nbsp;correspondents reported that Tehran was quieter than usual, with many normally busy streets free of Tehran\u2019s notorious traffic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web desk(National Times)- Funeral ceremonies for Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei \u2014 who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the Middle East conflict \u2014 officially began on Saturday, state television reported, an event drawing thousands and intended to serve as a show of strength to the Islamic republic\u2019s foes. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Huge crowds gather in Iran as funeral ceremonies for assassinated supreme leader begin - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/128694\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Huge crowds gather in Iran as funeral ceremonies for assassinated supreme leader begin - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- Funeral ceremonies for Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei \u2014 who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the Middle East conflict \u2014 officially began on Saturday, state television reported, an event drawing thousands and intended to serve as a show of strength to the Islamic republic\u2019s foes. 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