Khamenei funeral becomes test of Iran’s unity

Tehran opened weeklong funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, turning public mourning for the slain former supreme leader into a carefully staged display of endurance after months of war, political uncertainty and pressure on the Islamic Republic’s ruling establishment.

The body of Khamenei, killed on 28 February during US and Israeli strikes at the start of the war, was placed at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque complex for public visits over the weekend. Authorities expect the ceremonies to draw vast crowds before his burial in Mashhad on 9 July, the city of his birth and one of Shia Islam’s most important centres of pilgrimage.

Mourners dressed in black gathered across Tehran, waving national flags, carrying portraits of Khamenei and chanting against the United States and Israel. The funeral route, the public viewing and the planned processions through religious centres have been designed to project continuity after a conflict that killed senior political, military and clerical figures and exposed strains inside the state.

Khamenei, 86, had ruled Iran since 1989, shaping the country’s foreign policy, nuclear programme, security doctrine and clerical power structure for nearly four decades. His death removed the most powerful figure in the Islamic Republic and forced the leadership to move quickly to preserve order while managing grief, anger and questions over succession.

Mojtaba Khamenei, his son and successor, has remained out of public view during the ceremonies, fuelling speculation over his health and the balance of authority in Tehran. He was reported to have been injured in the same wave of attacks that killed his father and several members of the family. Officials have sought to present the transfer of authority as orderly, but his absence from the opening events has kept attention focused on the inner workings of the leadership.

The funeral is also being used to reaffirm the regime’s revolutionary identity. Religious banners, portraits of Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei, and images of the new leadership appeared across major thoroughfares. State-organised food stalls, transport arrangements and security deployments pointed to an extensive mobilisation effort aimed at ensuring heavy turnout and preventing unrest.

Iran’s leadership faces a complex political moment. The ceasefire that followed the war remains fragile, while economic hardship, sanctions pressure and public frustration continue to weigh on society. Before the conflict, the authorities had struggled with sporadic protests over living costs, political controls and social restrictions. The war shifted public attention towards national survival, but it has not erased the underlying grievances.

For many loyalists, the funeral is a moment of defiance. Khamenei’s supporters view him as the leader who resisted Western pressure, expanded Iran’s regional influence and protected the ideological core of the 1979 revolution. For his critics, his rule was marked by harsh repression, censorship, economic isolation and repeated confrontations that left ordinary people paying the price.

The scale of the funeral will be closely watched abroad as a measure of the regime’s capacity to mobilise support after the shock of losing its central figure. Large crowds would help Tehran signal resilience to adversaries and reassure allies across the region. A controlled but less enthusiastic turnout would strengthen perceptions that the state’s authority has become more dependent on coercion and symbolism.

Security forces have been deployed around key sites in the capital, with checkpoints near the Mosalla complex and along major access roads. Authorities are expected to maintain tight control over messaging, public gatherings and online activity during the funeral period. Iran has used network restrictions during moments of political tension, and digital access remains an important indicator of how far the state is willing to go to manage public reaction.