Thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Tehran on Monday as the funeral procession for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei moved through the capital, with calls for revenge against the US and Israel echoing throughout the ceremony.
Coffins carrying the remains of Khamenei and several members of his family, who were killed in the opening strikes of the Iran war, were transported slowly along a roughly 10km route through Tehran.
The procession, expected to last between 10 and 12 hours, passed through Enghelab (Revolution) Square, where crowds gathered beneath the square’s towering clenched-fist monument, a symbol of defiance associated with the Islamic Republic.
The IRGC-linked Fars News said “Everyone has come, carrying the red flags of revenge.” Red flags, which in Shia tradition symbolise vengeance, were visible throughout the crowds and featured heavily alongside banners reading “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
Many particpants chanted anti-American slogans, including “We don’t want a deal, we want Trump’s head,” while some mourners were seen throwing rocks at posters depicting US President Donald Trump. An effigy of Trump was also reportedly displayed and hung during the procession.
Large banners carried through the crowd included messages such as “Kill Trump – $100 Million Iranian Bounty,” while another poster portrayed Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as wanted men, featuring crosshairs over their images alongside English-language slogans including “There will be blood” and “Kill Trump.”
Iranian officials attending the funeral echoed calls for retaliation. Ezzatollah Zarghami, a member of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace and former head of state broadcaster IRIB, said negotiations with the US were being pursued purely out of necessity.
“Our first word is revenge,” Zarghami said, adding that any response should “discipline the enemies” and address public anger over Khamenei’s killing. He argued that nothing less than “serious, clear and decisive revenge” would be acceptable.
However, despite the mass turnout, a notable absence from the proceedings was Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen since February 28, following the death of his father and other members of the Khamenei family.
Israeli officials had previously indicated that Mojtaba Khamenei would be considered a target, leading to his absence as Iranian security officials had reportedly barred the supreme leader from attending his predecessor’s funeral.
Since assuming the position of supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei not been seen nor heard from and has communicated only through written statements published by Iranian media.
The funeral ceremonies have also commemorated other members of the Khamenei family killed in the strike, including Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel.
Delegations from numerous countries, as well as representatives of Iran’s regional allies and affiliated groups, attended the ceremonies. However, several prominent Iranian political figures, including a number of former presidents, had not been seen at the funeral proceedings.
