OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:30 AM – Saturday, July 4, 2026
Crowds of thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran for a multi-day funeral for slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an Israeli strike on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in February.
Mourners were dressed in black and draped in the Islamic regime’s flag as they viewed the religious leader’s coffin on Saturday.
The funeral is part of a nearly week-long memorial service. It follows a day of Khamenei lying in state in the Grand Mosalla for Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, including representatives from China and India. It will remain in the mosque for three days.
Authorities expect 15-20 million people to attend ceremonies across Iran and Iraq over the next few days as the deceased supreme leader is eventually buried in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday. It’s expected to be the country’s largest funeral ever in terms of attendees.
With a population of more than 90 million, the funeral’s attendance only accounts for less than 1% of Iran’s population.
“We came [to the funeral] because we promised the supreme leader we would stand by him to the very end,” 37-year-old professor Reza told news agency AFP in the Grand Mosalla’s courtyard. “For a long time, we shouted that we would sacrifice our lives for the leader, but it was he who sacrificed himself for us.”
Arash Rahimi, 40, told Reuters, “Everyone here has come to avenge the blood of their supreme leader. As our leader has said, we have a blood feud with the United States. Our relations with the United States will never be good.”
Reuters also reported, per state broadcaster Seda va Sima, that chants of “Death to America” could be heard in the Mosalla.
Also killed on February 28th were Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, according to Iranian state media. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named as the country’s third Ayatollah, though he has not been seen or heard publicly since then, and was not reported to be in attendance at the funeral.
On Friday night, while speaking at Mount Rushmore on the eve of America’s 250th anniversary, Trump touted that Iran was “dying to settle” with the U.S., adding, “We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”
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