Public Farewell to Khamenei Showcases Support for Iran’s Supreme Leader System

Large crowds of Iranians gathered at the Imam Khomeini Prayer Complex chanting “Death to America” and “We will kill those who killed our Imam.”

Thousands of mourners gathered on Saturday at the massive Imam Khomeini Prayer Complex in Tehran as funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, officially began. The week-long ceremonies opened with the national anthem, eulogies, and recitations from the Quran.

Iran is holding public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei in what is being presented as a demonstration of popular support for the Islamic Republic’s clerical system of government and revolutionary spirit. According to the source text, the first airstrike in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran brought an end to his 37-year rule.

Footage broadcast by Iranian state television showed the late Supreme Leader’s coffin draped with the Iranian flag and topped with his black turban. It was placed on a large black platform alongside four other coffins belonging to members of his family who were killed in the strike.

The vast courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Prayer Complex in Tehran was filled with mourners, many of whom waved Iranian flags and held portraits of Ali Khamenei.

Iranian state television and the official news agency reported that chants of “Death to America” echoed throughout the prayer complex during the farewell ceremony for what they referred to as “the martyred leader.”

Videos released by other state-affiliated media outlets also captured mourners chanting, “Our only slogan is revenge, revenge,” and “We will kill those who killed our Imam.”

Water was sprayed from rooftops to cool mourners amid the summer heat. Khamenei’s coffin is expected to remain at the prayer complex until Sunday evening.

His body is then expected to be transferred to Qom, followed by Najaf and Karbala—the principal centers of Shia Islam in Iran and Iraq—before being buried on Thursday in Mashhad, home to the country’s most important religious shrine.

The funeral ceremonies began late on Thursday evening when his coffin was placed before crowds of grieving supporters amid funeral chants, with some mourners throwing flowers toward the casket. On Friday, the coffin was moved to the Grand Prayer Hall, which was built in honor of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The authorities are seeking to mobilize millions of people to participate in large funeral processions over the coming days by providing transportation, food, and accommodation. The new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, has not appeared in any new public images since being injured in the attack that claimed his father’s life.