Tehran prepares for Ali Khamenei state funeral as foreign delegations expected

Iran is preparing to begin a seven-day state funeral and public mourning period for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with the first ceremony due in Tehran on Friday. Iranian state-linked media say representatives from more than 100 countries are expected to attend, making the event one of the largest diplomatic gatherings in the country in years. Related religious rites and processions are also planned across Iran and Iraq.

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According to the supplied report, Khamenei was killed aged 86 in a joint United States-Israeli air strike on his compound on 28 February, on the first day of the war on Iran. His burial was initially scheduled for March but was delayed as the conflict continued. The funeral programme is now set to begin with the main foreign attendance in Tehran, followed by public ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday in the capital.

The coffin, together with the coffins of several family members, is due to be placed at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran for public viewing. Processions are then expected to move south to Qom on Monday and Tuesday, before an official reception at Najaf International Airport in Iraq on Wednesday. Public processions are also planned in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, before the body returns to Iran for the final burial ceremony at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad on Friday.

The scale of the funeral gives the event wider political and symbolic significance. The report says the proceedings are expected to surpass the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which drew about 10 million mourners. That comparison underlines the place of state funerals in modern Iranian political life, where religious ceremony, public mourning and state messaging often overlap.

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The presence of foreign delegations also suggests the funeral will be used as a diplomatic moment as well as a domestic one. The funeral route also links several important religious centres in Iran and Iraq. Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad are all part of the planned sequence, showing how the ceremony is being organised across borders and across sites of major Shia significance.

The report also says Mojtaba Khamenei, described as Iran's current supreme leader and Khamenei's son, will not attend because of security concerns after an Israeli threat to assassinate him. What remains unclear is the full list of attending leaders and officials, and how many of the expected delegations will be represented at the highest level. It is also not yet clear whether the security situation will affect the planned processions in Iran or Iraq.

The key developments to watch are the opening ceremony in Tehran, the movement of the coffin through the planned route, and any official statements from Iranian or Iraqi authorities during the seven-day period.

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