People attend a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Jul 4, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Murad Sezer)
04 Jul 2026 11:41AM
(Updated: 04 Jul 2026 06:58PM)
TEHRAN: Vast crowds of Iranians loyal to the Islamic Republic massed in Tehran on Saturday (Jul 4) to begin almost a week of funeral ceremonies for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which authorities want to send a message of defiance to the West after the war with the United States and Israel.Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice under Shia Islam, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital, AFP correspondents said.Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989 and pursued a course of confrontation with the West while crushing dissent at home, was killed aged 86 along with several members of his family and top officials in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war on Feb 28.There was still no sign of Khamenei's son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been unseen in public since being named. Other top Iranian officials who survived the war welcomed foreign dignitaries who paid their respects at the coffin on Friday before the complex opened to the public.
