A sea of mourners engulfed the streets of Tehra on Monday, July 6, for the funeral procession of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ahead of his burial this Thursday. Khamenei was killed during the opening salvo of the war involving the US and Israel.
Iranian state TV footage captured tens of thousands of citizens lining a 10-kilometer (6-mile) route through the iconic Enghelab Square to catch a final glimpse of the leader’s flag-draped coffin, which was transported by lorry.
The massive public procession took place after the leader’s body lay in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Mosque.
Three of Khamenei’s sons prayed beside his coffin there on Sunday. But Mojtaba, the son who succeeded him as supreme leader, did not make an appearance.
He has not been seen in public since reporting being seriously wounded in the same Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February that killed his father and his wife.
Khamenei’s funeral procession wended its way slowly through central Tehran, from Imam Hossein Square in the east to Azadi Square in the west, on the last of three days of public mourning in the capital.
State media reported that millions of mourners filled the main boulevards connecting the squares and crowding around the black lorry that carried the coffin of the late supreme leader and four family members.
Marking the climax of three days of public mourning, the massive funeral procession choked central Tehran as it edged from Imam Hossein Square toward Azadi Square. According to state media, a sea of millions flooded the capital’s primary boulevards, swarming the black transport lorry carrying the late leader and four deceased relatives.
Iranian flags clashed with red banners symbolizing vengeance as the crowd marched through the capital. Protesters hoisted placards declaring “We must rise” and demanded accountability from US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose joint military strike four months ago sparked a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.
In a potent display of anger, mourners targeted a massive billboard of Trump hanging from an overpass, pelting his image with stones beneath a bold warning: “The US killed our father. We won’t let you go!”
Millions of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran on July 6, 2026, to participate in the funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Vast crowds waved Iranian flags alongside crimson banners symbolizing vengeance.
Local media reported the attendance of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This marked his first major public appearance since the outbreak of the war, following a targeted strike near his home that reportedly killed three of his bodyguards. Iran’s current president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was also filmed walking among the mourners on a Tehran street.
Earlier, Pezeshkian stated on X that Khamenei taught the nation that Iran’s “greatest asset” is “its people and their unity.” He pledged that Iranians would “continue the path of Iran’s honor, progress, and glory.”
“The destroyer has been destroyed,” declared Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, claiming responsibility for Khamenei’s assassination and issuing a stark warning that any future leader targeting Israel would be systematically eliminated. The death of Khamenei, who held power for nearly four decades, marked a dramatic escalation at the onset of the US-Israeli conflict.
This historic send-off unfolds amid fragile diplomacy, arriving less than three weeks after Washington and Tehran signed a breakthrough preliminary truce. The deal successfully reopened the crucial Strait of Hormuz, restoring a shipping lane responsible for a fifth of the world’s energy supply. The sides now face a two-month countdown to cement a final treaty spanning nuclear boundaries, sanctions relief, and a lasting peace. While Qatar reported “positive progress” during indirect Doha negotiations last week, further diplomatic maneuvers are on hold until Iran completes its period of national mourning.
This historic send-off unfolds against a backdrop of fragile diplomacy, arriving less than three weeks after a breakthrough preliminary truce between Washington and Tehran.
The agreement successfully reopened the crucial Strait of Hormuz, restoring a vital shipping lane responsible for a fifth of the world’s energy supply. Both sides now face a high-stakes, two-month countdown to cement a final treaty spanning nuclear boundaries, sanctions relief, and a lasting peace.
While Qatari mediators reported “positive progress” during indirect Doha negotiations last week, further diplomatic maneuvers remain on hold until Iran concludes its period of national mourning.
