Overview
- The three‑day Tehran phase of Khamenei’s multi‑day funeral entered a full city procession on Monday as the coffin moved through major avenues and was scheduled to travel next to Qom and to Shi’a holy sites in Iraq before burial in Mashhad.
- Authorities and state media promoted very large attendance numbers, citing millions of metro trips and estimates up to 15–20 million, but independent observers say those figures are difficult to verify and likely inflated.
- Funeral crowds repeatedly chanted anti‑U.S. and anti‑Israeli slogans and displayed violent imagery, including Hezbollah flags and banners calling for revenge and threats directed at President Trump and other leaders.
- Mojtaba Khamenei, named successor, has not appeared publicly since being wounded in the February attack and his continued absence has been explained by officials as for security and medical reasons while raising questions about succession and internal power arrangements.
- The ceremonies serve as a regional signal of allied solidarity and a domestic show of continuity that has prompted a pause in U.S.‑Iran negotiations for the funerary week and could shape the next round of talks and regional alignments once mourning ends.