The state funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 37 years, began today in Tehran. It marks the culmination of months of delay, political upheaval, and a war that killed him in the first place.
Khamenei, aged 86 at the time of his death, was killed during US-Israeli airstrikes at the outset of the 2026 Iran war. Iranian state media confirmed his assassination around late February to early March. The funeral was originally planned for March but got pushed back for an obvious reason: the country was under active bombardment.
A funeral four months in the making
The ceremonies, running from July 3 through July 9, span multiple cities including Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. Iranian authorities have closed streets and airspace in Tehran, anticipating tens of millions of mourners across the multi-day event.
Khamenei will ultimately be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad on July 9. The scale of the funeral is reportedly the largest in Iranian history.
