The funeral procession for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began in Tehran on Monday, drawing what Iranian state media described as millions of mourners into the streets for the largest public gathering in the country’s modern history. The flag-draped coffins of Khamenei and four family members killed alongside him in the 28 February US-Israeli strikes were carried on an open truck along a 10-kilometre route from Imam Hussein Square to Azadi Square, where a giant sculpture of a clenched fist had been erected as a symbol of defiance. The procession, which authorities said would last up to 12 hours, is the centrepiece of a week of state-organised ceremonies that will move to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, and conclude with burial in Mashhad on Thursday.

Iranian officials framed the mass turnout as a demonstration of national resilience and a message to foreign adversaries. The Supreme National Security Council declared on social media that the “roaring sea of people” was chanting “Resistance against the enemies” and “Vengeance for the blood of their martyred Leader.” Mourners carried red banners symbolising retribution, burned US and British flags, and hanged an effigy of President Donald Trump. Placards reading “Kill Trump” and “There will be blood” were visible along the route, and a eulogist at Sunday’s prayers called the killing of Trump a “duty.” From Washington, Trump told Axios that the US could “liquidate” the assembled Iranian leadership with “one shot” but was holding back to preserve negotiations. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz separately warned that any Iranian leader pursuing plans to destroy Israel “will be killed as well.”

The conspicuous absence of Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has become a focal point of the ceremonies. Believed to have been seriously wounded in the same strike that killed his father, the new supreme leader has not appeared in public since the war began and has communicated only through written statements. Three of his brothers attended the funeral prayers, but officials cited security concerns for Mojtaba’s non-appearance. Analysts in the region note that the Revolutionary Guard, which reportedly played a decisive role in his selection, is now the most visible guarantor of continuity, while the public invisibility of the supreme leader introduces an unusual degree of uncertainty into the Islamic Republic’s power structure.

The funeral is the first for a supreme leader since the 1989 burial of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, when crowd surges killed more than ten people and injured thousands. Authorities deployed massive security, closed Tehran’s airspace, and sprayed water on crowds to prevent a repeat. The event also follows months of war and domestic unrest; Iranian officials hope the scale of the mobilisation will project stability and shore up legitimacy, even as some participants told international news agencies they attended out of religious duty or to witness history rather than political allegiance. The US-Iran negotiations that produced a preliminary peace agreement last month remain paused for the funeral, with technical talks expected to resume afterward, possibly in Islamabad or Switzerland, focusing on the nuclear programme, sanctions relief, and regional security arrangements.