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Top developments
• Dayslong funeral: Tuesday’s ceremonies for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are taking place in the sacred Iranian city of Qom. Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to appear publicly since his father’s killing.
• Tanker struck: A tanker was reportedly struck by an unknown projectile while traveling off Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to a British marine tracking agency. No casualties have been reported.
• US-Iran talks: Iran’s top negotiator says implementing the agreement with the US is “difficult, but achievable.” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaking with the head of the Hamas political bureau at the funeral, also reaffirmed support for the regional armed groups backed by Iran.
What to know about Qom, the holy city hosting Khamenei's funeral ceremony on Tuesday
Tuesday’s funeral ceremonies for the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are taking place in the Iranian city of Qom, a holy site about 80 miles south of Tehran.
Qom is widely considered the second most sacred city in Iran and home to the Qom Seminary, Iran’s preeminent institution for Shiite scholarship.
The city is also the site of the Fatima Masumeh Holy Shrine, an important pilgrimage destination for Muslims to honor the sister of Ali al-Rida, a descendent of the prophet Muhammad and the eighth imam of the Twelver Shiites.
Khamenei undertook advanced religious studies at the seminary in Qom, including under his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
When Iran’s Assembly of Experts announced that his son Mojtaba had been chosen to replace his father as supreme leader, state media released a four-minute documentary clip recounting Mojtaba’s life, which mentioned he had studied at the seminary in Qom.
The city is also a key industrial and petrochemical hub and has been targeted by US-Israeli strikes throughout the war. The holy city is also near the secretive, heavily guarded Fordow nuclear site, which was bombed by the US in June 2025.
Prayers for Khamenei will be held at the Jamkaran Mosque, a significant religious site on the outskirts of Qom.
On Wednesday, Khamenei’s body will be transported to the Iraqi city of Najaf, then on to Karbala, before he is buried in his hometown of Mashhad Thursday.
Tanker struck near Strait of Hormuz, UKMTO reports
A tanker was reportedly struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire, while traveling south into the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which oversees the area.
The vessel was eight nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, when it was reportedly struck on its port side, according to the UKMTO.
No casualties or environmental impact have been reported.
Fighting continues in Lebanon as further negotiations loom
The Israeli military carried out several strikes in Lebanon on Monday, according to reports in Lebanese state media.
The National News Agency (NNA) reported that five towns in southern Lebanon were targeted by Israeli shelling and other military activity Monday, including “a large explosion” in the town of Hadatha. NNA did not mention casualties from the spate of attacks.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment. Earlier Monday, the military said in a statement that the Israeli air force “conducted a precise strike” in al-Aqida after a suspicious vehicle approached a group of Israeli soldiers.
Though Israel and Lebanon signed a preliminary agreement last month for Israel to withdraw from two areas of southern Lebanon, Israeli military and political leaders have indicated that Israel intends to continue its campaign, saying that the agreement allows it. Notably, Israel’s primary foe in Lebanon, the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, was not a party to the document signed by the two countries, and it has criticized the agreement.
Nonetheless, negotiations will continue. Israeli and Lebanese officials will meet later this month in Rome to work on issues related to the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday.
At least 4,319 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on since March 2, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tolls.
Hundreds of thousands of people were at Khamenei's funeral procession today. Catch up here
Tehran’s streets were flooded by huge crowds today, as hundreds of thousands of mourners came out to watch the funeral procession of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who was killed by US-Israeli strikes in late February.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen attends the funeral procession for Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, witnessing mourners who vow revenge against the United States and Israel. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Today marks the third of six days of funeral events. Here’s a look at what’s been happening so far today:
- Starting at dawn, crowds of mourners wearing black clothing poured onto the streets of central Tehran ahead of Khamenei’s funeral procession.
- A few hours later, a vehicle holding coffins painted with the Iranian flag began to drive down the streets of the city. Frequent loud cries of “death to America, death to Israel” were heard from the crowd.
- Mourners took part in a symbolic “stoning the devil” ceremony, throwing pebbles at an image of US President Donald Trump, according to footage released by the state-affiliated Mizan news agency.
- Iran’s hardline and controversial former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the funeral, marking a rare appearance after years of estrangement from the slain leader.
- Meanwhile, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also parliament speaker, said implementing the ceasefire agreement his country has signed with the United States is “difficult, but achievable.”
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said any Iranian leader who “attempts to advance plans to destroy Israel will be thwarted.”
- Almost a third of boats that traversed the Strait of Hormuz in recent days did so along the coast of Oman, tracking data suggests, as the waterway remains a key component of a fragile truce between the US and Iran.
- Elsewhere in the region, French President Emmanuel Macron is in Syria ahead of the NATO summit in Turkey. Macron is the first leader of a major Western nation to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Frederik Pleitgen, Claudia Otto, Aida Karimi, Charlotte Reck, Mostafa Salem, Xiaoqian Lin, Tal Shalev, Sana Noor Haq and Rupert Neate contributed to this reporting.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Mourners in huge crowds vow revenge for Khamenei's death
Hundreds of thousands of mourners have taken to the streets of Tehran for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today, with many calling for revenge over his death.
Thirty-year-old Zahra Valaei told Reuters: “We will take revenge for the blood of our leader. We will not let the blood of our leader be trampled underfoot.”
Take a look at some scenes from the ground in the video above.
Trump's image stoned at funeral, state media footage shows
Mourners at a massive regime-organized funeral for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei took part in a symbolic “stoning the devil” ceremony, throwing pebbles at an image of US President Donald Trump, according to footage released by the state-affiliated Mizan news agency.
The stoning of the devil is a Hajj ritual where Muslim pilgrims throw small stones at pillars representing the devil, symbolizing the rejection of evil.
Grieving men and women, many with their children beside them, flooded the capital’s streets bearing the flag of the Islamic Republic and clutching photographs of the nation’s former leader.
Elsewhere, one woman was stood defiantly on the roadside with her nation’s flag in one arm and a placard imitating a “wanted” poster with Trump’s face, and the words “Kill Trump” in the other. Emblazoned across it, a bounty was promised for whoever avenges the death of Iran’s late leader: “Assassination bounty. Dead or alive. 20,000,000 Dollars,” it said.
Anti-American displays, including chants of “Death to America,” flag burnings and similar imagery, have been a staple of state-organized rallies in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
During the funeral procession, attendees circulated a list identifying Trump’s “warmongering advisers” – those deemed responsible for Ayatollah Khamenei’s death – as targets.
Meanwhile, data shows nearly a third of tankers crossing strait used Omani route recently
As we cover the former supreme leader’s funeral procession, here’s an update about the Strait of Hormuz.
Almost a third of boats that traversed the key strait over the past couple days did so along the coast of Oman, tracking data suggests, as the waterway remains a key component of a fragile truce between the US and Iran.
One hundred and eight boats crossed the strait from Friday through Sunday, the latest update from maritime tracking agency MarineTraffic said Monday. Of those, 30 vessels — including crude and LPG tankers — followed the Omani route.
The flow of vessels through the channel, where boats transport about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied gas supplies, remained highest on Friday, with 43 crossings. On Saturday and Sunday, 34 and 31 crossings took place, respectively, according to MarineTraffic.
Analysts described “operational but fragmented” activity, MarineTraffic said, adding that the pattern “should be read alongside the still-fragile security and diplomatic backdrop.”
Remember: Authorities in Iran have repeatedly used the vital oil chokepoint as a bargaining chip after US-Israeli strikes on Tehran triggered retaliatory Iranian strikes and wider regional violence.
Tehran and Washington have launched strikes even after signing a 14-point agreement in June. At the same time, Iran has tried to strengthen its leverage by saying crew members must gain permission to traverse the strait along routes approved by its officials.
Just on Sunday, the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned that its navy deployed patrol boats to block the “Omani route,” Iranian media and a Telegram channel affiliated with the IRGC said.
CNN’s Billy Stockwell and Tim Lister contributed reporting.
How discussions between the US and Iran were progressing before Khamenei's funeral
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator in talks with the US, said earlier that implementing the ceasefire agreement his country signed with the United States is “difficult, but achievable.”
Ghalibaf said that Iran does not “have peace with America and will not recognize Israel,” reaffirming support for “the resistance front,” a term Tehran uses to describe the regional armed groups it backs, according to the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Last week, officials from Tehran and Washington traveled to Doha, Qatar, for indirect talks on the war. These discussions were paused by Iran ahead of the funeral of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which is taking place at the moment.
Here’s the latest on the talks:
- The separate indirect meetings between US and Iranian negotiators in Doha made “positive progress,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Wednesday.
- Al-Ansari also said that that the next meeting between negotiators would be scheduled “at the earliest possible time” after funeral processions for Iran’s former supreme leader.
- US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the talks were “going well,” though he added that it was “still pretty early.”
- Meanwhile, officials from Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered agreement late last month outlining an Israeli withdrawal from two areas in southern Lebanon. Despite this agreement, fighting has continued, and two days after signing it, Israel approved continued military operations in southern Lebanon. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah denounced the agreement, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from the country.
- Earlier in the week, Syria’s foreign minister visited Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials, marking his first official trip since Trump raised the possibility of Syrian intervention in Lebanon.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Hira Humayun, Haley Britzky, Xiaoqian Lin, Tal Shalev, Charbel Mallo, Eugenia Yosef and Oren Liebermann contributed to this reporting.
Why Khamenei's funeral is taking place now, according to Middle East expert
The six-day funeral of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei is currently underway, more than four months since he was killed by US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in late February.
Typically, Muslim burials take place very soon after death, meaning that the months-long delay in holding Khamenei’s funeral is “unusual,” Rowena Abdul Razak, an expert on Middle Eastern history, has told CNN.
There are many factors behind this delay, Abdul Razak, a lecturer in the history of the Middle East and Africa at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, explained.
Firstly, the war between the US, Israel and Iran caused “a lot of displacement, destruction and bombings,” which “made it hard to have the funeral,” Abdul Razak said.
Safety concerns also meant that Iranian leaders might not have been able to attend the commemorations if they were taking place while fighting was happening, she added. Those planning the funeral may have waited for a ceasefire before holding the funeral due to these safety concerns, and to ensure that foreign dignitaries could attend, the lecturer explained.
The spectacle is unfolding during the Islamic month of Muharram, “a deeply meaningful and very important month” in the Shiite calendar, the lecturer said. “Having the funeral during this month holds significant symbolism of sacrifice and martyrdom.”
Khamenei’s funeral procession is “quite different” to that of his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Abdul Razak said. The 1989 events only lasted two days compared to six, and the procession stayed in Iran, rather than traveling to Iraq, like Khamenei’s is expected to.
Khamenei will also be buried in his hometown of Mashhad rather than in his own mausoleum, the lecturer noted.
Iran’s top negotiator says implementing agreement with US is “difficult, but achievable”
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who also serves as the speaker of parliament, said implementing the ceasefire agreement signed with the United States is “difficult, but achievable.”
Speaking with the head of the Hamas political bureau Muhammad Ismail Darwish, who was in Tehran for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf said that Iran does not “have peace with America and will not recognize Israel” and reaffirmed support for “the resistance front,” a term Tehran uses to describe the regional armed groups it backs.
“When necessary, that support comes in the form of missiles; when political pressure is needed, that pressure is applied through negotiations,” Ghalibaf said, according to the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Ghalibaf added that “avenging” Khamenei will come through the “liberation of Jerusalem,” according to IRIB.
The 14-point agreement signed last month between Iran and the US sets a 60-day period for negotiations on sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but makes no reference to Tehran’s support for regional armed groups or its drone and missile programs.
Hundreds of thousands on the streets of Tehran for Monday's funeral events
Monday, the climax of the funeral events in Tehran, saw the largest crowds yet on the streets of Iran’s capital city.
The nearly 20-kilometer-long (12 miles) procession route, stretching through the center of Tehran, was packed full of mourners hoping to see the late Ayatollah’s coffin up close.
No official figures have been released on the turnout Monday but the crowds easily numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Many had traveled into Tehran from other cities in Iran.
The atmosphere is extremely charged up. Many of the people here – and it’s a big big crowd – are screaming, “Death to America” and vowing revenge both against the United States as well as President Donald Trump and against Israel as well.
The government has brought out people in force. They say they expect several million people to come out on the street to witness this as the casket is now making its way through Tehran to then, at some point, be brought to other cities in Iran and Iraq before being taken to its final resting place in the east of Iran in Mashhad.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports from Khamenei's funeral procession
The public funeral procession for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is underway in Tehran today, and a CNN team is on the ground.
Mourners waving flags and holding pictures of Khamenei crowded the street, chanting phrases such as “death to America” and “death to Israel.”
One woman told CNN that she had come out to “seek the revenge for the blood of our leader,” adding that she will “not abandon this goal for a second.”
Watch more from the funeral procession in the video above.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
In pictures: Coffins pass through packed Tehran streets
Huge crowds have gathered in central Tehran today as a vehicle holding several coffins painted with the Iranian flag made its way down the streets during the public funeral for Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei's funeral procession is underway in Tehran. Here's what we're seeing on the ground
The third day of the public funeral for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is underway in Tehran, where the main procession is taking place.
Later this week, processions are expected to take place in the Iranian city of Qom and in Iraq before Khamenei’s burial in the town he was born.
Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba has still not appeared publicly since his father was killed in an airstrike as the US and Israel launched their war with Iran on February 28..
Here’s a look at what’s happened today:
- From dawn, crowds of mourners wearing black clothing poured onto the streets of central Tehran ahead of Khamenei’s funeral procession.
- Some hours later, a vehicle holding coffins painted with the Iranian flag began to drive down the streets of central Tehran. Frequent loud cries of “death to America, death to Israel” were heard from the crowd.
- Many mourners were seen waving a red and white flag, which symbolizes martyrdom and revenge in the Shia Muslim tradition. The flags of Iran and Hezbollah were also seen in the crowd.
CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Frederik Pleitgen, Claudia Otto, Aida Karimi and Lex Harvey contributed to this reporting. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Iran’s controversial former president Ahmadinejad appears at Khamenei funeral for first time since war
Iran’s hardline and controversial former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marking a rare appearance after years of estrangement from the slain leader.
Ahmadinejad’s tenure polarized the Islamic Republic and his presidency gained notoriety for controversial world views. In 2009, his re-election sparked the Green Movement – at the time the largest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic Republic – over claims of vote rigging.
Despite the protests, Khamenei came out strongly in favor of the election results and backed Ahmadinejad, although their relationship soured in the years that followed and in recent years the former president was sidelined.
Iranian media reports said at the early days of the war said a strike on his home injured Ahmadinejad. His attendance at Khamenei’s funeral marks the first time he appears publicly since the war.
A picture on Iranian media showed him walking among the large crowds attending the funeral procession in Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a closer look at Iran's slain Supreme Leader
To his supporters, Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the steadfast, fearless leader who transcended mere politics and inspired devotion. To his critics, Iranian and foreign, he was a feared tyrant bent on crushing those opposed to him while keeping his country isolated from the West.
He was only the second leader of the Islamic Republic and by far the longest-serving.
Khamenei, who was born in 1939 in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city, became a Shiite Muslim cleric at a young age. He was an activist before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, helping to organize protests against the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and serving time in prison for it.
He was also a target for the new Islamic regime’s opponents and escaped an assassination attempt in 1981 that left his right arm useless.
Not long afterward, he was elected president on a platform deeply hostile to the West and its liberal ideology, and especially to the United States — threatening a hard fight in the event of war.
“We in no way are willing to start an all-out war with the US, but if it so happens, we will inevitably put up a very strong defense,” he said.
He was a protégé of Iran’s previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the struggle to overthrow the shah and founded the Islamic Republic. When Khomeini died in 1989, Khamenei became his successor within a matter of weeks.
Read more about the late supreme leader in our obituary here.
At Khamenei’s funeral procession, mourners wave a flag steeped in symbolism
At the funeral procession for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, many mourners are waving a red and white flag which symbolizes martyrdom and revenge in the Shia Muslim tradition.
The flag, which has the Farsi words “Ya Hussein” on it, refers to the 7th century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed and a revered Shia figure. Hussein was killed during the Battle of Karbala, which cemented the permanent divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
While the flag is widely used as a religious invocation across the Shia Muslim world, the Iranian regime has also used “Ya Hussein” imagery to frame modern conflicts through the symbolism of Karbala, portraying them as a continuation of Hussein’s stand against injustice.
The flag has been prominently displayed after other major events such as the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020, serving as a symbol of martyrdom, resistance and, in the regime’s messaging, retaliation. The flag was also draped over Khamenei’s casket in images published last week by his official X account.
The Iranian flag and Hezbollah’s green and yellow flag are also common fixtures in the crowd mourning Khamenei.
Khamenei’s assassination has made him “far more powerful symbolically in death than he was in life,” Sina Toossi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center of International Policy, previously told CNN.
“Khamenei is now being framed as a martyred religious authority, akin to revered Shia saints who were martyred, whose worldview was vindicated by the manner of his death.”
Khamenei’s funeral falls during the Islamic month of Muharram, when Shia Muslims honor Hussein and his martyrdom.
As part of this week’s commemorations, Khamenei’s body will be transported to the Shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq, the same site as the famous battle, before he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine, in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown.
Mostafa Salem contributed reporting.
Israeli defense minister threatens Iranian leaders
As Iran holds a multi-day funeral for its slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said any Iranian leader who “attempts to advance plans to destroy Israel will be thwarted.”
“Ayatollah Khamenei, whose funeral is taking place now, was eliminated by Israel because he initiated and led the plan to destroy Israel in Iran and across the region,” said Katz, according to a spokesperson on Monday.
He added that US-Israel strikes on Iran “removed the immediate existential threats facing Israel and severely damaged Iran’s strategic capabilities.”
He also slammed mourners who were chanting “Death to Trump” during the funeral, calling them “disgraceful” and that they “reveal the true nature of the ayatollah regime.”
Who runs Iran now and how it works
The structure of Iran’s regime was built following the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
This swept away Iran’s monarchy and birthed a state that is part theocracy, part republic, with a handful of semi-democratic institutions swaddled by a system that is ultimately clerical.
Here’s a look at how power operates in the country:
- Supreme leader: Atop Iran’s power structure is the supreme leader — a position currently filled by Mojtaba Khamenei. The leader is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and has authority over the national police and morality police. He also appoints half of the 12 members of the Guardian Council; Iran’s parliament selects the other half.
- Guardian Council: This 12-jurist body oversees the activities of Iran’s parliament, determining if laws passed are compatible with sharia and can demand that legislation be revised. The council also approves candidates for parliament, the presidency, and the Assembly of Experts – meaning it can block certain candidates from running for public office.
- Assembly of Experts: This body of 88 jurists, directly elected by the public from a list of candidates vetted by the Guardian Council, is tasked with checking the authority of the supreme leader. But it is not clear how the assembly exercises its power: it only meets for one week a year; its meetings are secret; and it is not known to have ever challenged a supreme leader’s decisions.
- President: The head of the elected government is directly answerable to the supreme leader. Eligible for a maximum of two four-year terms, the president implements policies within the framework set out by the supreme leader and spearheads Iran’s diplomacy.
- Parliament: With 290 members, also elected to four-year terms, the parliament drafts legislation, ratifies treaties and approves the budget. Its sessions are open to the public and its deliberations are broadcast.
- Security services: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is an elite military unit tasked with defending the regime, comprising between 150,000 and 190,000 troops, and has an army, navy, air force and intelligence wing. The Basij – a volunteer branch of the IRGC – is responsible for enforcing Islamic morality among the public.
