Millions of mourners filled the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Wearing black and carrying flags with the slogan "we will rise," the crowds participated in a massive event that lasted approximately 10 hours. The procession was part of a weeklong series of memorial ceremonies, following two days where the 86-year-old cleric's body lay at the Grand Mosalla religious complex.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in February during US-Israeli airstrikes at the start of a war. The Iranian government preserved his remains for several months, a move some Islamic scholars describe as a political and security calculation. While many admired the leader who headed the Islamic Republic for nearly four decades, critics have expressed anger over the scale of the commemorations honoring his rule.
The theocratic regime is using the enormous turnout as a show of strength and unity while negotiating with the United States for a permanent end to the war. These mourning ceremonies have resulted in the delay of peace talks by one week. Amid calls for revenge against the US and Israel, the regime has projected stability through the reappearance of military leaders.
The funeral events included the body's arrival in Qom and a burial in Mashhad. Notably, the new supreme leader did not attend his father’s funeral and has yet to be seen in public. This massive display of mourning occurs seven months after the country was gripped by street protests that saw thousands killed by government security forces.