Updated July 6, 2026 at 10:58 AM MDT
ISTANBUL — Huge crowds of people joined the funeral procession of Iran's late supreme leader as it made its way through the capital, Tehran, on Monday.
Iranian state media showed the caskets of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and four family members — killed the first day of Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 — draped with the Iranian flag and placed on a large semitrailer adorned with white paneling. It moved slowly as people wearing black wailed and swarmed the truck, some throwing flowers at the caskets, others waving red flags symbolizing revenge.
But not everyone is mourning.
"Why should we spend so much on the mourning ceremony of the leader who ordered the killing of thousands of people?" says 32-year-old Mona. She asked NPR only to use her first name because she fears government retaliation.
Iran scholar and Yale lecturer Arash Azizi says that the regime, through this funeral, wants to project an image of lasting power.
"With the funeral they are attempting to give an image of resilience and continuity," he says. "That Ayatollah Khamenei is a transnational martyr."
He says the attendance of officials from around the world — albeit low-ranking — was aimed at boosting Khamenei's current international standing.
Foreign delegates attend
On Friday, a number of official foreign delegations and religious leaders attended a ceremony as Khamenei lay in state.
Russia, which has supported Iran during the war and has received drones from Iran for its war in Ukraine, sent former President Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council. Pakistan sent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Other foreign attendees included the president of Iraq, the Afghan foreign minister and a delegation from Hamas. Saudi Arabia, which has been at odds with Iran for decades — and where Iran attacked a U.S. military base in March — also sent a delegation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led the ceasefire negotiating team with the U.S., were seen praying near the caskets. There has been no sign of Iran's current supreme leader, Khamenei's son, Mojataba Khamenei. He has not been seen in public since he took over in March.
Threats to America and President Trump
Iran held the funeral for Ali Khamenei and his relatives more than four months after they were killed by Israeli-U.S. strikes.
Iranian state media showed throngs of people gathered at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a large prayer complex in Tehran, visiting the family's caskets. Men and women wore black and wept openly. Women slapped their heads with their hands in mourning, while men beat their chests in unison, a tradition observed at Shia Muslim funerals.
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There were chants of "Death to America" and big red signs that read "#KillTrump." Some people waved flags, including red ones that symbolize revenge and many yellow ones that represented the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting since the beginning of the war.
The Iranian government said the ceremonies were delayed this long because of "the war conditions" and "the brutal U.S. invasion."
The funeral is one way the Iranian regime is trying to show stability and power to Iranians and the world, sending a message that the Islamic revolutionary power that leads the country still enjoys popularity.
Iranians divided
Khamenei was a divisive figure in Iran. Killed at age 86, he had ruled as supreme leader since 1989 and oversaw the expansion of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Revolutionary Guard and other security forces were responsible for the killing of more than 6,000 people during nationwide anti-government protests that broke out in December 2025, according to Human Rights Activists News Agency, an Iranian human rights organization in the U.S.
A 32-year-old woman whose brother was killed during the protests in January told NPR that Khamenei's funeral gave her little comfort. She asked NPR not to use her name, fearing government retaliation.
"Even in the Ayatollah's death, he still causes us torment," she said.
Fatmeh, 33, who asked NPR to only use her first name because she was afraid of retaliation from the government, said she argued with her family all the time, especially her mother, who she says sees Khamenei as part of her religion.
"She is definitely going to take part in the funeral," Fatmeh said about her mother.
Five cities
After mourners visited Khamenei's casket through the weekend, a funeral procession was set to take the body to the city of Qom. Then the procession will cross into Iraq, to Shia religious sites in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The body will finally be transported back to Iran, where he will be buried in his birthplace of Mashhad on Thursday.
Iranian officials say they expect millions of people to attend.
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