Iran is preparing for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader who was killed in the war – nationwide
Iran prepared Friday for the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to raise support for the Islamic Republic after a devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
The country’s theocracy plans to see millions fill the streets of the capital from Saturday in commemorations of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1989 burial.
That could give power to the Iranian government, especially as it tries to contribute to its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in talks with the United States about ending the war permanently, and as there are still concerns that Israel could attack again.
In addition, the powerful general who heads Iran’s Revolutionary Guard made his first public appearance in months at the funeral. Some top government officials will also be there along with foreign dignitaries to show Iran’s strength.
“As long as these people, chosen (by God), are in the field, we will definitely continue with the same policy of ‘no humiliation’ established by the Islamic Republic,” said Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, a volunteer preparing for the funeral on Friday.
“We will continue with our policy of pursuing freedom, and decisions will be made within the country, and people will decide their own destiny,” he said.
Boxes are displayed in Tehran
Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin rested in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla alongside family members killed in an Israeli airstrike at the start of the war on February 28.
Get the latest country news
Get the best Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
The official dead included a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old grandson and the wife of Iran’s new leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the former leader’s son remains at large after being reportedly injured in the attack.
Religious leaders and dignitaries from other countries went up to Khamenei’s casket as a military band played or a man chanted prayers. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, prominent leaders of the country’s government, all paid their respects.
A video published by Iranian state media showed a previous mourning ceremony for Khamenei on Thursday night. Mourners dressed in black, identified by state media as coming from the families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and Iran’s latest war, threw scarves and other items for those present to mix with the casket, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
Later, state media showed pictures of Khamenei’s coffin draped in a red flag with white lettering reading “Ya Hussein,” a Shiite slogan commemorating the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It was flying over the golden shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq. Traditionally the flag symbolizes both the spilled blood of someone wrongfully killed and a call for revenge.
The average high appears for the first time in months
Pictures published online by Iranian state media showed Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attended a meeting on Thursday about Khamenei’s funeral, then sat by his coffin as the Iranian regime held a small service for him on Thursday night near the home of the supreme leader in the city of Tehran.
“They must know that the pure blood of our martyred imam will mark another turning point in the victory of the beloved Islam around the world,” Vahidi told state television in a comment on Friday. “They will put in their graves the desire to see this nation surrender. This nation will rise day by day with this pure blood.”
Vahidi has been a major player in building Iran’s strong position in negotiating a possible permanent end to war with the United States, experts say. He had not been seen in public since Feb. 8, weeks before the start of the Iran war. Israel killed top Iranian military and government leaders during the war, and has threatened the life of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small group in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.
It is not clear whether Khamenei will appear at his father’s funeral. His father appeared in 1989 at Khomeini’s funeral, visibly weeping, as he began his decades-long journey to lead Iran in an iron fist against the West.
Israel’s repeated threats to kill Khamenei drew a warning from Iran’s military on Thursday.
“We warn the enemies of a strong Iran, especially the United States, the state of Israel and their regional and extra-regional actions, to avoid any wrongdoing and to consider harsh and regrettable responses that will be given by the sons of the Iranian nation in the armed forces to any threat or aggression against our beloved country,” the military command said.
The funeral will continue for days
Starting Saturday, Iran will hold a full-day funeral for Khamenei and his body will be transported to cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities plan to close roads, airports and daily life in Tehran as mourners remember Khamenei’s life.
In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei’s fist can be seen on banners and on a giant statue in Tehran’s Enghelab Square, which features what appear to be missiles flying through the air. In his first message to the nation, read by a state television broadcaster, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father’s body after he died with a fist cut.
The banners read in Arabic, English and Farsi: “We must wake up.”
“This fistfight is a fistfight where we are all Muslims,” ​​said taxi driver Jafar Javadi. “The leader’s fist is a sign that all our fists are folded and they will be destroyed (the enemies) with these fists if God wills.
–Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
