Millions attend funeral prayers for Iran's late Supreme Leader Khamenei

Millions of people gathered in Tehran this week to attend funeral prayers for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was announced by state media on Monday. The mass turnout, reported by officials as reaching several million, reflects the leader’s central role in the country’s political and religious hierarchy since he succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. The prayers were held at the Imam Khomeini Mosque, a venue traditionally reserved for high‑profile state ceremonies, and were broadcast live on national television and online platforms.

Government representatives described the event as a unified expression of national grief, with senior clerics, members of the Revolutionary Guard, and foreign dignitaries offering condolences. The funeral will be followed by a burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, as stipulated by Khamenei’s own wishes, and a thirty‑day period of official mourning is expected to commence. Authorities have called on citizens to observe the mourning protocols, while the succession process for the Supreme Leader’s position remains under deliberation by the Assembly of Experts.