Here's the latest
• Funeral procession: The largest funeral crowds yet have been seen in Tehran as hundreds of thousands of people packed the city’s streets hoping to see the coffin of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. CNN’s team on the ground has witnessed mourners vow revenge against the US and Israel.
• Successor absent: Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba has still yet to appear publicly since his father’s killing. Iran’s hardline and controversial former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attended the funeral, marking a rare appearance after years of estrangement from the slain leader.
• Israel’s threat: Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said any Iranian leader who “attempts to advance plans to destroy Israel will be thwarted.” He added that Khamenei was killed “because he initiated and led the plan to destroy Israel.”
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.
Vehicle holding coffins passes through packed Tehran streets
A vehicle holding several coffins painted with the Iranian flag is making its way down the streets of central Tehran as part of the main funeral procession for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The ornate vehicle holding the coffins is white and green, according to footage from Reuters. The sides are partly open to the crowds so they can see the coffins inside.
The procession route is packed to capacity and the mourners have spilled onto side streets, with many hoping to gain a glimpse of the passing cortège, according to CNN journalists on the ground.
The sounds of competing chants are filling the air, with frequent loud cries of “Death to America, death to Israel.”
Video from Reuters news agency also shows people burning the Union Jack and the American flag, while others held up banners with images of US leaders in crosshairs.
Water jets are spraying mist to cool down the mourners, who are mostly wearing black, with temperatures set to reach 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit) in Tehran today, according to the UK Met Office.
Khamenei was killed along with several members of his family in an airstrike as the US and Israel launched their war with Iran on February 28.
This post has been updated with additional information.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
In 1989, Iran held a massive funeral for its supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes in late February, was Iran’s second and longest serving supreme leader.
He became head of state in 1989, after the death of his mentor and predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution, died just under ten years after founding the Islamic Republic.
His funeral was recognized by Guinness World Records as having the “largest percentage of population to attend a funeral,” with an estimated 10.2 million people — equivalent to one sixth of the country’s population — in attendance, according to official Iranian estimates.
The events surrounding the funeral were chaotic, with eight people killed and hundreds injured, according to a report written by the Associated Press news agency at the time.
Iran’s semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) wrote about the 1989 funeral earlier this week, describing how the enormous crowds exceeded the numbers expected by authorities.
When Khomeini’s coffin began moving in a convoy, mourners surged towards it, causing a crowd crush and forcing the funeral procession to be abandoned, according to ISNA. The coffin was airlifted away from the scene by helicopter to allow the crowds to disperse, it said.
Some mourners scratched their faces until they bled in their grief, the AP reported at the time. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had to hit some mourners’ hands to get them to let go of Khomeini’s coffin as it passed through the crowds, it described.
Mourners carry flags and chant as they throng Tehran streets for Khamenei funeral
Black-clad crowds of mourners poured onto the streets of central Tehran from dawn on Monday morning, ahead of the funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“It is a must for us to be here. He was our imam,” Ali, 59, told CNN. Being here showed the solidarity of the people of Iran, he said.
The procession route was a river of flags — Iranian, religious and others for causes more political: the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah.
Mourners chanted non-stop, with no sign of the ayatollah’s coffin more than an hour after the procession’s official start time. Parents pushed strollers with infants, as men, women and children of all ages crammed onto the street.
“He was our leader. He was a great man,” 25-year-old Fatemeh told CNN. “I am going to continue his path.”
From an overpass spanning the procession route, people were seen streaming towards the main axis of the procession.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
Massive funeral procession for Khamenei set to begin in Iran. Here's the latest
Mourners began lining the streets of Tehran early Monday morning for the main funeral procession for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Over the past two days crowds have thronged the central mosque where coffins containing the bodies of Khamenei and several of his family members were placed on display.
In other news, NATO leaders are meeting this week and officials are expected to discuss security in the Strait of Hormuz. Overall traffic through the strait has remained steady in recent days but is still far below pre-war levels. Tehran has warned against using non-designated routes, which threaten its control over the waterway.
More on the headlines:
Iraq joins Khamenei funeral: On Wednesday, Khamenei’s body will be transported to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in neighboring Iraq for religious ceremonies there. Several Iraqi provinces announced official holidays to allow mourners to travel. Read more about Iran’s plans for the funeral here.
Strait of Hormuz: The Trump administration expects security in the critical waterway to be among the topics discussed by NATO leaders when they gather in Ankara, Turkey, a senior US official said. President Donald Trump is expected to depart Monday night for the NATO summit.
Oil futures down: Oil futures dipped on Sunday after OPEC+ announced an increase in oil production of 188,000 barrels a day. Oil prices have declined since the US-Iran ceasefire agreement in mid-June opened up some traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
On Hezbollah: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met a group of senior Hezbollah officials. Iran had maintained “definite and fundamental lines” in its negotiations with the United States and “one of these red lines is the issue of the Resistance Front and Lebanon,” Ghalibaf said, according to IRNA.
CNN’s Auzinea Bacon, Alejandra Jaramillo and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed reporting.
What's on the schedule for the coming days of Khamenei's funeral
The third day of the public funeral for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is underway in the country’s capital.
The commemoration began on Friday, when Khamenei’s coffin was put on display in Tehran.
Here’s a look at the remaining plans for the six-day proceedings:
- July 6 — Monday’s events are expected to draw the largest crowds yet in Tehran. The late ayatollah’s main procession, which includes funeral prayers, will follow the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) distance from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square.
- July 7 — Prayers will be held at the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, an important holy city about 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) south of Tehran. A funeral procession may also be held here, if conditions allow.
- July 8 — Khamenei’s body will be transported to the Iraqi city of Najaf, as the regime seeks to show its revolutionary ideology can still transcend its borders. There will be an official reception attended by Iraq’s prime minister, senior government officials and religious leaders before the cortege travels to the Imam Ali Shrine, an important pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims. Afterward, the body will be taken by helicopter to the Shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, about 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) away, before flying back to Iran.
- July 9 — Khamenei will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, in Mashhad, the town where he was born.
