Iran is completing preparations for the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on 28 February, the first day of a 40-day war. The ceremonies begin on 4 July at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where the body will lie in state, and will move through Qom and the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before burial in Mashhad on 9 July. Iranian officials project attendance of 15 to 20 million people in the capital alone, prompting authorities to declare a three-day public holiday, impose sweeping traffic restrictions, and deploy medical stations and security forces across the city.

According to the secretary of the funeral headquarters, Ali-Akbar Pourjamshidian, the events are designed to “reinforce national cohesion and unity among political, social, and religious groups” and to strengthen solidarity across the Islamic world, including among Sunni communities. A separate objective, he stated, is to renew allegiance to Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March. State television has saturated programming with documentaries on the late leader, while posters across Tehran promise a “bright future” and carry the slogan “We Must Rise.”

Viewed from New Delhi, the composition of India’s delegation has become a focal point of analysis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a personal invitation from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, but the government is dispatching a junior foreign minister and a state governor. Commentators in India note that this contrasts with the vice-president’s attendance at the 2024 funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi, and some interpret the lower-level representation as an effort to avoid antagonising the United States and Israel, with whom India has deepened ties. Officials from roughly 30 countries are expected, and Iraq has formed a high-level committee to coordinate the processions through Najaf and Karbala.

The funeral unfolds against a backdrop of a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US-Israeli coalition, signed after more than three months of hostilities. It also comes six months after nationwide protests over living costs that evolved into anti-government demonstrations. The ceremonies were originally scheduled for early March but were postponed due to the war. The body will be transported along a 10-kilometre route from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square on 6 July, with temperatures forecast to reach 45 degrees Celsius. The burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad on 9 July will conclude a procession that Iranian commanders describe as a “historic event” intended to project continuity and popular support for the Islamic Republic’s leadership.