The Fars News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that the total number of participants in the six-day funeral and burial ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, across Iran and Iraq reached approximately 41 to 43 million, calling it the “largest funeral in world history.”
Without publishing any official data or verifiable audits, Fars stated that the estimate was calculated using indicators such as public transit ridership, active mobile phone signals at the venues, crowd-density analyses along the procession routes, and figures provided by Iraqi authorities. The state-linked outlet further alleged that the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office had confirmed an attendance of around 10 million people during the processions in Najaf and Karbala, which was factored into its final tally.
No independent organisations or international bodies have verified these figures, and the Islamic Republic has yet to release any officially verifiable attendance records.
In stark contrast to the state media figures, international news agencies reported drastically lower turnouts:
Reuters: Described the gatherings in Tehran using terms such as “tens of thousands of people” to characterise the crowds present in the capital. Relying on aerial and drone footage, the agency refrained from reporting multi-million figures, instead estimating that tens of thousands had gathered across the streets of Tehran and on the grounds of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque.
