Millions Mourn Slain Ayatollah as Iran's New Leader Remains Hidden From Public

A Nation Buries Its Supreme Leader — Four Months After His Death

Four months after he was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike, Iran is finally laying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to rest. The state funeral of the second Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, began on July 3 following his assassination on February 28, 2026, by a joint U.S.-Israeli operation at the start of the 2026 Iran war. The funeral was originally scheduled to take place in Tehran and Mashhad in early March but was postponed due to the war. What is unfolding this week is one of the most extraordinary state funerals in modern history — marked as much by who is absent as by the millions who have shown up to mourn.

Mourners beat their chests rhythmically in the intense summer heat, the wails of women cutting through the noise as the body of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was unveiled beneath a glass case at the Grand Mosalla. Thousands of mourners wrote messages of grief on a black concrete wall separating the crowd from the platform where the coffins of Khamenei and family members killed alongside him were placed, covered with Iranian flags. Around 15 million people are expected to take part in funeral ceremonies over the course of several days, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

A Procession Across Two Countries

Today — Monday, July 6 — marks the largest single day of the multi-city funeral. Mourners began lining the streets of Tehran early Monday morning ahead of a massive funeral procession, which will follow a 10-kilometer route from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square. The airspace over Tehran has been completely closed for the procession, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization announced.

On Monday, a funeral procession will take the body to the city of Qom, and then the procession will cross into Iraq, where Khamenei will be taken to Shia religious sites in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. He will finally be transported back to Iran to be buried in his birthplace of Mashhad on Thursday. Khamenei's daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and granddaughter were also killed in the strikes on his compound , and their coffins have been displayed alongside his throughout the ceremonies.

Iran's New Leader Nowhere to Be Seen

The most haunting detail of the entire week has been the conspicuous absence of Iran's new Supreme Leader. Three sons of the slain ayatollah — Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud Khamenei — prayed beside his coffin on Sunday, but Mojtaba, the son who succeeded him as Iran's supreme leader, did not make an appearance. Mojtaba has remained in hiding since the war began in late February, communicating with supporters only through written statements shared by Iranian media — never showing his face or using his voice.

According to a leaked audio recording, Mojtaba Khamenei stepped outside into his garden moments before ballistic missiles struck his home on February 28. The strike killed his wife and son instantly, while he suffered an injury to his leg. Mojtaba Khamenei's face was reportedly disfigured and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, according to people close to his inner circle. His absence from his own father's funeral has done little to quiet questions about whether he is truly capable of governing a nation at war.

A Regime Signaling Resilience — and a War Still Unresolved

Iran is seeking to use the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to reinforce its regional influence and project continuity after months of conflict, with the ceremonies drawing senior officials, militia leaders, and representatives from across the Middle East. Representatives from more than 100 countries were expected to attend the funeral, according to Iranian state-linked broadcaster IRIB. Representatives of Tehran-backed militant groups, including envoys from Hezbollah and Hamas, attended the funeral ceremonies and met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

A ceasefire has suspended the four-month-old war under an agreement with Washington that Iranian authorities say will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over a superpower. But the war's scars run deep, and Iran's path forward remains uncertain. With a new supreme leader who has never shown his face in public, a shattered economy, and peace talks still fragile, the week of mourning for Khamenei is as much a reckoning with Iran's future as it is a farewell to its past.