Hundreds of thousands attend funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Hundreds of thousands of mourners assembled in Tehran on Saturday to begin a days‑long funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ceremony, held at the Imam Ali Mosque and other key sites across the capital, marked the formal beginning of state‑sponsored rites that will continue for several days, reflecting the regime’s customary protocol for a figure of Khamenei’s stature.

Tara Kangarlou, a global affairs journalist and author of *The Heartbeat of Iran*, noted that most of the attendees appeared to be from more emboldened, hardline segments of society. She argued that the composition of the crowd does not mirror the broader public’s attitudes toward the regime, suggesting that the funeral’s turnout may be more a reflection of loyalist enthusiasm than of widespread national sentiment.