Iran set to bury Supreme Leader Khamenei after days of funeral ceremonies

Millions of mourners are expected to turn out for the week-long funeral ceremonies recognizing Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei helmed the Islamic Republic for 37 years before being killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28 at the beginning of the war. Khamenei is to be buried July 9 following days of ceremonies.

Khamenei’s funeral is expected to draw massive crowds of Shiite Muslims across Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan.

During the funeral of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, eight people were trampled to death amid large crowds, per The New York Times.

In a separate ceremony commemorating Qassem Soleimani, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, more than 24 people were killed in a stampede, per the outlet.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is urging the public to come forward to honor Khamenei as they lay him to rest as a beloved “loyal servant” to Islam.

“As an epic-spirited Iran prepares to bid farewell to this loyal servant of Islam and the Revolution, I call upon all the noble people of our country—regardless of ethnicity, religion, personal preference, or political affiliation—to participate with fervor, resolve, and a historic presence in the funeral and burial ceremony of this martyred leader, thereby once again demonstrating an enduring display of national unity and loyalty to the lofty ideals of the Islamic system,” Pezeshkian wrote in a statement posted to Telegram by Iranian state outlet Tasnim News and translated by The Hill.

“Your massive turnout will serve as a decisive response to the logic of terror and violence, and will not waver our resolve,” the statement adds.

Senior officials from around 40 countries are slated to attend the funeral ceremonies of Khamenei that are set to begin Saturday, as reported by Iranian outlet Mehr.

“We must rise up and convey the nation’s call for (avenging the blood of the martyred Leader) to the world so that the world knows that the noble nation of Iran will not remain silent in the face of oppression and arrogance,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a Wednesday statement published by the news agency.

The funeral comes as Qalibaf and Pezeshkian help lead negotiations with the U.S. toward a long-term peace deal in the region.

Talks have sputtered, and there have been strikes between the U.S. and Iran last weekend that seemed to threaten the ceasefire.

Negotiations were held in Qatar earlier this week, where U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are helming diplomatic efforts to ensure the war’s end.

Iran set to bury Supreme Leader Khamenei after days of funeral ceremonies

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