Tens of thousands gathered in central Tehran on Tuesday for the funeral procession of Iran’s recently assassinated supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a display officially framed as one of unity and defiance amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.
Mourners lined the route from Revolution Square to Freedom Square, the site associated with the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as the coffin of Khamenei and those of four family members—killed alongside him in an airstrike on the opening day of the current conflict—were transported through the city. Iranian officials claimed attendance exceeded 20 million, though independent observers estimated the crowd numbered in the high hundreds of thousands. Still, the turnout visibly surpassed the roughly one million who attended the 2020 funeral of Qasem Soleimani, another senior Iranian commander killed in a U.S.-ordered airstrike.
Basij militia members clad in black formed a barrier around the procession vehicle to shield it from the crowd, which showered the coffins with flowers. Elsewhere, some mourners expressed their anger through acts such as throwing stones at billboards depicting former U.S. President Donald Trump with a bullet aimed at his head.
While the procession was marked by fervent displays of loyalty, Iran appeared divided in the wake of Khamenei’s death. Certain districts remained notably quiet, with reports indicating that many residents—particularly among the country’s liberal elite—left Tehran to seek refuge at leisure spots along the Caspian Sea or in mountain resorts. Social media posts from critics of the regime also showed scenes of illicit celebrations featuring drinking and dancing, activities generally prohibited under Iran’s strict clerical rule.
Other dissenting voices expressed both sorrow and scorn toward the large-scale ritual mourning, blaming Khamenei for decades of oppressive governance and for the violent suppression of widespread protests earlier this year. The January demonstrations had seen thousands killed during crackdowns, fueling ongoing resentment among segments of the population.
The atmosphere at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque, where Khamenei’s coffin was displayed over the weekend, presented a contrasting tone. Iranian national flags predominated there, though placards demanding revenge against the U.S. and Israel were widespread. Some signs featured inflammatory messages targeting Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and U.S. political figures such as JD Vance and Pete Hegseth, accompanied by imagery of rifle sights and slogans like “Kill Trump,” “There Will Be Blood,” and “An eye for an eye.”
Expressing the sentiment of many who viewed Khamenei’s death as a profound affront, Fatima Sardardi, a woman in her thirties wearing a black chador, said, “Someone has come here and killed our leader in his house with his family, our great man. It is our right to want to exact revenge.”
As Iran mourns its supreme leader, the events reveal a society simultaneously rallying under official calls for vengeance while grappling with internal divisions and dissent in uncertain times.