Overview
- The state‑organised funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began with public viewings at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla and, on Sunday, July 5, drew authorities' estimates of multi‑million attendance as officials declared a national holiday.
- Coffins of Khamenei and four relatives killed on February 28 were displayed under glass and funerals will move to Qom, Iraq and Mashhad over a weeklong schedule intended to show regime continuity.
- Most senior Iranian officials and three of Khamenei’s sons attended public prayers, while the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared and is widely reported to be wounded or in hiding.
- Speeches and chants at the ceremonies included explicit calls for revenge against the United States and Israel and, in some cases, threats naming President Donald Trump, raising near‑term escalation risks for the region.
- Washington and Tehran have paused indirect talks on a permanent end to the war for the duration of the funeral, creating uncertainty about when negotiations over issues such as control of the Strait of Hormuz will resume.