On July 4, 2026, the Islamic Republic of Iran held the first day of the funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom joint U.S.–Israeli strikes killed on February 28, 2026. The event will continue for several days. The ceremonies include the funerals of other family members, including the late wife of Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali’s son and successor. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei failed to appear on the first day. The deputy of the hidden imam remains in hiding, feeding speculation that he might be dead.
Regime media outlets have been silent on Mojtaba. The only reference to him is reporting on a chant led by the crowd, “We are all bloodthirsty for the father, obedient of the son’s commands.” Even then, the outlets did not mention Mojtaba by name. Even an official government report at the Islamic Republic News Agency about the presence of Ali’s sons at the funeral makes no reference to Mojtaba Khamenei, while listing the other three sons, Mostafa, Masoud, and Meysam.
Even an official government report at the Islamic Republic News Agency about the presence of Ali’s sons at the funeral makes no reference to Mojtaba Khamenei.
The crowds also chanted, “Death to America,” representing a disconnect with Vice President J.D. Vance’s assurance that Iran’s new leaders “recognize the way that [they have] done business with the U.S. for 47 years is a mistake.”
The regime did its best to encourage attendance, especially considering the summer heat. Publicly, it advertised measures such as hospital buses to treat heatstroke; changed the subway schedule by dedicating three stops to the funeral; closed government offices for the days of the ceremonies in Tehran; made Sunday a holiday; and provided assistance for those traveling from other cities. It also coerced some public employees to attend.
Despite these measures, turnout has been unimpressive. Early videos show that the attendance was in tens of thousands. One picture, assuming its authenticity, shows an estimated 150,000 people at Tehran’s prayer center. Tehran metro’s population alone is 16 million. This fits the secular decline of turnout for official ceremonies.
The headline will be Mojtaba’s absence, but there were other sideshows.
In lieu of Mojtaba, leaders and luminaries of the three branches of government greeted foreign delegations, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi, Mojtaba Khamenei’s military adviser Mohsen Rezaee, and Mojtaba Khamenei’s father-in-law and former parliamentary speaker, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel.
They also opened the ceremony. This included a viral moment, during which Araghchi side-eyes Ghalibaf, who is crying theatrically. Allegedly, Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian had sought to oust Araghchi during the negotiations due to Araghchi’s loyalty to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The viral moment hints at Araghchi’s distrust of Ghalibaf, who has a reputation of being unprincipled, a pretender, and a hypocrite.
Each foreign delegation took its turn to pay respects to Khamenei’s corpse, and the regime carefully picked Qur’anic verses to be recited for each of them. The speaker recited Al-Fat’h 29 to Oman and Yemen (Houthis), about God’s kindness to those “firm with disbelievers and compassionate with one another.” Hamas and Hezbollah were recited praiseful verses. The Taliban were promised victory. The Lebanese government was told not to abandon their homes. It was prayed to the Qataris that God forgives their sins. Most interestingly, the Saudi and Turkish delegations were shamed.
The Saudis were treated with Al-Imran 13:
The regime offered the Turks Al-Nisa’ 95:
The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain, which Iran struck with missiles and drones more than other neighbors, did not attend the ceremonies.
The farewell ceremonies will continue for a second day. On July 5, the religious ceremonies for the dead will begin in Tehran and continue through Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace, where he will be buried on July 9, 2026. His burial coincides with the anniversary of the 18 of Tir campus uprisings in 1999, the first popular protest to the Islamic Republic and Khamenei’s rule.
