Iran Holds Massive Funeral for Assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was assassinated on 28 February during the opening of a US‑Israeli military campaign that also eliminated dozens of Iran’s senior military and security officials. The strike killed top figures such as Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, IRGC commander Mohammed Pakpour and navy chief Alireza Tangsiri.

Iran’s government announced a five‑day series of funeral ceremonies to begin on 4 July and run through 9 July. Public farewells will be held at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, followed by a main procession in the capital, then transfers to Qom and finally to Mashhad, where Khamenei will be buried in the Razavi Shrine near the tomb of Imam Reza. Foreign delegations are expected, though capacity limits will restrict attendance. The funeral was delayed for more than 100 days due to security concerns amid the war and the subsequent US‑Iran memorandum of understanding. An opposition website described the earlier strikes as “the scale of these targeted killings is striking,” highlighting the profound impact on Iran’s leadership hierarchy.