Ayatollah Khamenei's State Funeral Postponed Until After Ashura

The state funeral for the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a United States-Israeli attack on Iran on the first day of the Middle East war, has been postponed. The funeral will now take place in late June or early July.

According to AFP news agency on Friday (12/6/2026), Iran had previously stated it planned to hold a three-day funeral ceremony at the beginning of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which falls in early June.

In a statement carried by the Fars news agency, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said the state funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei has been delayed until late June or early July. He said the ceremony was postponed until after the first ten days of Muharram to allow Muslims to complete their annual mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, the revered early Shia leader who fell in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.

The tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is known as Ashura. It marks a significant commemoration of the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein bin Ali. Ashura this year is expected to fall on 25 or 26 June.

This means Khamenei’s funeral will take place during the second ten days of Muharram, between 26 June and 5 July. Officials in Tehran previously said they expected 20 million people to attend.

Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for nearly 37 years, was killed at his home in central Tehran on 28 February. The originally planned state funeral on 4 March was postponed due to the war.