Tehran state funeral turns into mass anti-US and anti-Israel rally

Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Saturday for the state funeral of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, turning the ceremony into a large public display of anger toward the United States and Israel. The coffin was placed at the Great Mosalla, a major religious complex in the capital, where mourners began arriving before the official start of the rites. Many attendees wore black and carried red Shiite flags marked "Martyr".

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The funeral began at around 6 a.m. local time, after state television announced the start of the proceedings. According to a journalist at the scene, some participants chanted "Vengeance" and "Death to the United States, death to Israel", slogans that are regularly heard at official gatherings in Iran. Red placards calling to kill Donald Trump were also visible, on the same day the United States marked the 250th anniversary of its independence.

The event comes four months after Khamenei's death in Israeli and American air strikes that triggered the conflict on 28 February, according to the supplied report. Authorities expect between 15 million and 20 million people to take part in the commemorations in Tehran alone, describing them as the largest in the country's history. The funeral is scheduled to last six days, and the centre of the capital has been turned into a heavily controlled area with numerous police checkpoints.

The gathering also carries wider political significance because it is taking place during diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The report says the ceremony is intended as a show of strength after the war and after a framework agreement was signed last month to end the conflict. In that context, the public messaging at the funeral appears designed to project defiance at a moment when the two sides remain in contact.

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The funeral is also unfolding against a backdrop of domestic pressure inside Iran. The report notes that it comes six months after major public protests over the high cost of living and the government. That makes the scale of the turnout and the tone of the slogans more significant, as the authorities seek to present unity and control in the capital.

The presence of Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, who succeeded him in early March as supreme leader, was not confirmed. What remains unclear is how many people will ultimately attend over the full six-day period and whether the funeral will lead to further political messaging from Iran's leadership. It is also not clear whether Mojtaba Khamenei will appear in public during the commemorations.

The next developments to watch are any official statements from Tehran, any response from Washington, and whether the funeral becomes a broader signal in the ongoing diplomatic track.

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