Iran’s Funeral for Khamenei Begins With Vows of Revenge
Iran’s days-long funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began this morning at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque, his casket displayed in a glass case beside the coffins of family members killed with him in February’s opening strikes. Crowds chanted “Revenge! Revenge!” and “Death to America!” at ceremonies Iran deliberately began on America’s 250th birthday. President Trump, speaking at Mount Rushmore, said: “We knocked the hell out of Iran… They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”
Tehran’s streets, airspace and daily life have shut down for a mobilisation intended to echo Khomeini’s 1989 funeral, when millions filled the capital — and turnout is the measure everyone will read, six months after protests were violently suppressed. The unresolved question is whether new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appears at his father’s funeral at all: Israel has repeatedly threatened to kill him, and Iran’s military command has warned Washington and Israel “to avoid any miscalculation” during the rites. A strong showing strengthens Tehran’s hand in the settlement talks that resume after the burial on Thursday. Watch the procession crowds on Monday.