Tens of millions of mourners flock to funeral procession for slain Ayatollah Khamenei which will go on for days amid growing fears of mass stampedes and brutal security clampdowns10:47, 03 Jul 2026World dignitaries are expected to attend a days-long funeral procession for Iran’s slain Ayatollah Khamenei, killed aged 86 at the beginning of the US-Israel war on Tehran.‌Leaders from more than 100 countries are planning to attend the opening of the ceremony expected today before his body is taken to worshippers across Iran and Iraq.‌His coffin is on display today, in readiness for the beginning of the ceremony on Saturday, along with the remains of the rest of his family who also died in the war. None of the European countries who are allies to the US or Israel were invited.‌The event will attract tens of millions to the streets in five cities across the two countries as the tyrant’s remains are honoured, with supporters encouraged to take to the streets.There are growing fears of stampedes as have happened in previous large-scale state mourning events in the region. Khamenei, who led Iran with an iron fist for nearly four decades, was killed on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly launched the war. The funeral was delayed as the war raged.‌Amid the leaders expected to join the state funeral are Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped broker the current ceasefire.President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon will also attend, along with Armenia’s leader Nikol Pashinyan and Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili.Russia will send former president Dmitry Medvedev and foreign affairs officials from Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh will also be there.‌But it is unclear whether Khamenei's son, Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his first public appearance during the ceremonies.Motjaba was severely injured in the same US-Israeli strike on a government residence in Tehran at a little after 8am local time on 28 February that killed many of his family.It killed Ali Khamenei, his daughter and her husband, Mojtaba’s wife and his 14-month-old daughter. The ceasefire appears to be holding despite pressure by Iran on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to use approved routes or face attack.‌The younger Khamenei, believed to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father, remains in hiding as he is also thought to be severely injured. Khamenei's body will be on display at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday before being taken through the streets of Tehranon Monday. From there it will transport to the Shia city of Qom, 75 miles to the south, where Khamenei will be honoured on Tuesday.On Wednesday it will be taken to the shrine of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed, Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq. Wednesday also marks the anniversary of the protests against Khamenei's rule, which saw thousands killed by security forces. Khamenei finally will be brought to Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, where he will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine.‌Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine each year. A hadith, or saying, states that anyone with sorrow or sin will be relieved by visiting there.Many prominent Shiite clerics have been buried there, as was Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024. On June 6, 1989, millions of Iranians turned out in the streets to bury Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution.Article continues belowThe situation quickly got out of control. People beat their chests rhythmically in the summer heat, the wails of women cutting through the noise.Mourners rushed the casket, causing the 86-year-old religious leader's white-wrapped body to tumble into the crowd. Initial reports said the chaos killed at least eight people and hurt some 11,000 others.Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, who is the lead funeral organiser, described the Saturday ceremony, which will end with Khamenei’s burial on Thursday in Mashhad, as “the most important event of this century” and the most attended event since the 1979 revolution.