Mourners throng funeral procession in Tehran for Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
[July 06, 2026]
By NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners dressed in black flooded into Iran's
capital Monday for a procession as part of the funeral of the late
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with throngs of people calling
for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, and those of members of his family killed
Feb. 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and
the United States, sat on board a truck decorated to resemble the
ornamental grating that surrounds the shrine of an imam. The massive
turnout, encouraged by Iran's theocracy as a sign of strength, came as
it negotiates with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war that killed
the 86-year-old cleric.
Helicopter images aired on Iranian state television showed a massive
crowd stretching from Tehran’s Azadi, or Freedom, Square for kilometers
(miles) down a multilane street of the same name. The crowd appeared to
be larger than the one that turned out for the 2020 procession for the
late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Solemani, which drew over 1 million
people.
Authorities offered no immediate crowd count as the truck crept down the
street. But people alongside the truck and elsewhere on the route
carried placards, signs and banners calling for Trump's death.
“Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very
tough day,” mourner Fatima Hassan said. “We are not here to say goodbye
to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.”
Sea of mourners greets Khamenei
Mourners reached out to touch the truck, and some threw scarves and
other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common
practice in Iran seen as a blessing. Attendants, some on the ladders of
firetrucks, sprayed misted water across the crowds to cool them in the
heat.
Authorities appeared concerned about the dangers of having a large crowd
alongside the procession, with officials on loudspeakers urging the
public to walk slowly, not to push and to stay to the edges of the
street.
The coffins will be taken through the streets of Tehran on a 12-hour
journey to Mehrabad International Airport, said Revolutionary Guard Gen.
Hasan Hasanzsdeh, who is overseeing the procession.
Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the
mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is
buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
“This is the last time I am seeing him,” said a weeping Maryam Alizadeh.
“Our generation lived with him for decades.”
Calls for Trump's death grow as funeral goes on
As the funeral has gone on, however, there have increasingly been calls
from mourners to avenge Khamenei’s death. Mourners and the signs they
carry have called for the killing of both Trump and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Such signs were seen again Monday along the
procession’s route, with one effigy of Trump being hanged.
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Mourners chant slogans while gathered in Islamic Revolution Square
for the funeral procession of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei beneath a billboard depicting Khamenei in
Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
"We are here to show that his path will continue, and every single
one of these people will continue down his path with clenched fists
and soon we will certainly avenge his death against the U.S and
Israel,” said mourner Sahar Zaraatgar
U.S. federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against
Trump and other administration officials for years, stemming from
Trump’s ordering the 2020 killing of Soleimani, who led the elite
Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to kill Trump,
though hard-line propaganda footage long has suggested Trump was in
Tehran’s crosshairs.
Trump meanwhile promised to destroy Iran’s civilization during the
war, among other threats.
Negotiations over war remain on hold
The U.S. is meanwhile eager to press ahead with negotiations with
Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back its
disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war.
Talks appear to be on hold until after the burial.
The funeral was in part a show of unity as Iran demands a measure of
control over the strait, a vital waterway for global energy that it
shut down during the war. The U.S. has rejected those demands, and
the sides are divided on other key issues, including Iran’s nuclear
program and the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed militant
group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, meanwhile has
yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are
unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after
reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.
At the height of the war before an April ceasefire, Israel targeted
top leaders, in at least one case likely using their public
appearance to fix their position. It has also threatened to kill the
younger Khamenei.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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