The body of former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei arrived on Friday July 3 at the religious complex in Tehran where his funeral on an unprecedented scale will take place, four months after his death in an Israeli-American strike.
Authorities expect between 15 and 20 million participants in Tehran alone for the three-day national tribute, which begins from Saturday and is intended as a show of force after the nearly 40-day war that killed many top leaders and thousands of civilians.
Ali Khamenei’s coffin, wrapped in a flag in the colors of Iran, arrived at the Great Mosalla, a vast religious complex in the capital. Its walls are covered with large portraits of Ayatollah Khamenei, who was supreme leader for three decades, black flags as a sign of mourning and red flags, a symbol of martyrdom and revenge.
The Mosalla complex, designed to host major Friday prayers, official commemorations and religious gatherings, will remain open day and night until Monday. A procession carrying the remains of Ali Khamenei will then parade through the streets of Tehran, before reaching the holy city of Qom on Tuesday.
As for dignitaries, leaders and officials from around thirty countries, mainly neighboring ones, are expected, including former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. China will be represented by a senior member of Parliament, He Wei.
Ali Khamenei, the longest-serving supreme leader since the advent of the Islamic Republic in 1979, died at the age of 86 after his two sworn enemies bombed his residence on February 28. His national funeral, initially planned for March but postponed due to the war, promises to be the largest in Iranian history.
In 1989, when his predecessor, the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, died, around 10 million people attended his funeral, according to official figures. Crowd movements then left more than ten dead.
Alongside Ali Khamenei’s coffin will be those of his relatives also killed on the first day of the war, including that of one of his daughters, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.
Europe not invited
The presence of Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, who succeeded him as supreme guide in early March, has not been confirmed. Wounded during the strikes that killed his father, the leader only speaks in press releases attributed to him and has not appeared in public.
No European leader was invited. “All those who will attend the funeral are on the right side of history,” Iranian diplomatic spokesperson Ismaïl Baghaï underlined this week, denouncing Western support for Israel and the United States in their two wars against the Islamic Republic, in June 2025 and this year.
Ironically, the start of the funeral will coincide with the national holiday of the United States, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary on July 4.
These funerals are taking place under tension, in a context of a fragile ceasefire between Tehran and Washington but also six months after major demonstrations against the cost of living and power. Since Friday, Tehran has been like a fortress, with numerous security forces and a huge perimeter inaccessible by car. Tehran airport is partially closed on Friday and will be completely closed on Monday, a public holiday throughout Iran. Shopping centers have lowered their curtains and businesses are forced to rest.
Ali Khamenei will be buried on July 9 in the holy city of Mashhad (north-eastern Iran), where he was from. Religious leader, his coffin will stop on Wednesday in neighboring Iraq, where the Shiite community is also the majority.
