Defiance and Revenge: The Message from Iran at Khamenei's Funeral

Several days of public mourning in Iran turned into a political spectacle that the country’s leaders sought to display to the world. Huge crowds thronged the streets of the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday to attend the funeral of the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was laid to rest in the Imam Reza shrine complex, the holiest Shiite Muslim site in Iran. The procession marked the end of six days of public mourning held across five cities in Iran and in neighbouring Iraq. The funeral, according to state news agency IRNA, took place after an exchange of strikes between Iran and the United States that threatened initial efforts to reach a deal to end the war that killed Khamenei. Earlier, the Revolutionary Guards accused the US of bombing two railway bridges connecting the capital Tehran to Mashhad overnight. They claimed the attack was carried out “to divert attention” from the funeral procession. Khamenei and several members of his family were killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran on 28 February 2026, the first day of Iran’s war against the US and Israel. He was succeeded as Supreme Leader by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since reportedly being seriously wounded in the same attack. Mojtaba, now 56, did not attend the funeral ceremonies in Tehran or Qom. There was no indication he was present at the procession in Mashhad. On Thursday morning, a plane carrying the coffin of Ali Khamenei, his granddaughter, his son-in-law, his daughter, and Mojtaba’s wife landed in Mashhad after flying from Iraq. Previously, huge crowds followed the funeral procession to two holy Shiite shrines in the cities of Najaf and Karbala. In the afternoon, Iranian television showed thousands of mourners dressed in black walking along a main boulevard in central Mashhad. Many waved Iranian flags and red banners symbolising a call for revenge. Some mourners also carried pictures of the late supreme leader and posters calling for the death of US President Donald Trump. Along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump ordered the joint strikes against Iran four months ago that triggered the war. Banners bearing official slogans hung over the boulevard, including a call that “we must rise”. “The loss of our leader feels heavier than losing a parent,” Hoda, a 35-year-old housewife, told the AFP news agency. “Only the death of Trump and Netanyahu can ease our grief.” Later, a truck carrying Khamenei’s coffin slowly moved through the sea of people towards the Imam Reza shrine complex. The cortege finally arrived at the site as night fell. Imam Reza is the eighth imam in the Shiite tradition and the only one of the 12 imams believed to be buried in Iran. His mausoleum, dating back to the 9th century and featuring a golden dome and soaring minarets, is visited by millions of pilgrims annually. Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city located in the northeast of the country. He studied religion in several seminaries in the city before moving to Qom, the centre of Iran’s Shiite clergy. He was appointed Supreme Leader in 1989 after the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During his 37-year rule, Khamenei maintained a tight grip on Iran’s politics and military. He suppressed domestic challenges, in some cases with an iron fist. In foreign affairs, he also consistently took a hard line, including in Iran’s confrontations with the US and Israel. Iran’s leadership hoped the organised funeral ceremonies for Khamenei would project an image of unity and strength after a war that killed thousands and mass protests in January when a security crackdown left thousands more dead. However, the national mourning period was overshadowed by renewed conflict with the US. Trump warned that US strikes could become “far worse” after a second night of attacks on Thursday. The US military said the operations aimed to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards stated that Iranian forces had attacked US military facilities and infrastructure in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar in response to the strikes. Three weeks earlier, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for a cessation of hostilities on all fronts and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement also provided a two-month window for both sides to reach a final deal covering Iran’s nuclear programme, the lifting of US sanctions, and a permanent ceasefire. Last week, mediator Qatar said Iranian and US negotiators had made progress in indirect talks in Doha.