Iran held funeral prayers on Sunday for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a February 28 airstrike that also targeted several top officials and sparked the current war. The ceremonies, unfolding over several days in Tehran and other cities, drew hundreds of thousands of mourners and high-ranking officials, signaling both a display of unity within Iran’s leadership and a message of defiance amid ongoing tensions with the United States and Israel.

Khamenei, 86, died in the initial phase of the conflict, and since then, Iran has been led by his son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Mojtaba has remained out of public view during the funeral rites and is reportedly in hiding due to injuries sustained in the strike. Other members of Khamenei’s family, including his sons Masoud, Meysam, and Mostafa, surfaced publicly for the first time since the war began. Among the officials present at the Tehran ceremonies were President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf—who has been involved in negotiations with the U.S.—and Esmail Qaani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Ahmad Vahidi also appeared in public for the first time since the conflict’s outbreak.

The funeral events have been accompanied by large crowds chanting slogans such as “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” with some hard-line attendees calling for vengeance over the attack that killed Khamenei. Posters and graffiti visible near the venue explicitly called for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These calls come against a backdrop of a prolonged conflict with Israel, which reportedly targeted Iranian leaders during the war, and longstanding U.S.-Iran hostilities partly linked to Trump’s 2020 order to kill Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

Negotiations involving the United States and Iran are ongoing but have been temporarily suspended pending the conclusion of burial ceremonies. Key issues in talks include the reopening of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the controversial Iranian nuclear program, and efforts to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities. Iran has sought increased control over the strait—a vital route for global oil shipments—something the U.S. has rejected. Despite some maritime transit through the waterway in recent days, overall traffic remains below prewar levels, and the area continues to face a “substantial” threat level, with mine clearance operations still underway.

The funeral procession will continue with plans to transfer Khamenei’s remains to various cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq before final interment at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace, on Thursday. Authorities have implemented broad security measures including street closures and airspace restrictions to accommodate the national mourning period.

In a broader regional context, the war and related tensions have coincided with other security incidents, including a recent attack on a cargo ship near Yemen in the Red Sea involving Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, underscoring continuing instability across the region. Meanwhile, OPEC+ announced a modest increase in oil production for August, aimed at bringing more supply online amid fluctuating global prices influenced by the conflict.

Observers note that contrary to early expectations that Khamenei’s death might destabilize the Iranian regime, the leadership appears consolidated and more entrenched under the younger generation. Analysts say the new hierarchy, led by Mojtaba Khamenei, combines a hard-line stance with increased expertise in statecraft, conflict management, and propaganda, having adapted from lessons learned in past regional conflicts involving U.S. forces. This evolution suggests that Iran’s current leadership is both resilient and emboldened despite significant external pressures.