Six Days of Mourning: Iran Bids Farewell to Its Supreme Leader

For six days now, Iran has stopped everything to say goodbye to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s Supreme Leader for more than three decades, who was killed along with several family members in a US-Israeli strike on February 28. Streets are closed. Flights are grounded. And millions of people, dressed in black, have filled the streets of Tehran to mourn a man who ran the country since 1989.

Millions on the Streets

The numbers are hard to imagine. Iranian health officials say around 15 million people are taking part in the mourning, and the whole event was planned for a month in advance, with temporary hospitals even set up near the main mosque in Tehran where the coffins were kept for people to visit.

The mourning began on Saturday and will end this Thursday when Khamenei, who was 86, is finally buried in his hometown of Mashhad. Getting there hasn’t been a short trip either, his body has traveled through Tehran, then Qom, then across the border into Iraq, stopping at the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, before the final burial.

On the day of the big procession, huge crowds packed into Islamic Revolution Square, chanting as the coffin slowly rolled past. It was extremely hot, so officials sprayed water over the crowd just to keep people from fainting. People threw flowers onto the coffin as it moved through the streets, wrapped in the Iranian flag.

Anger at the US and Israel

This funeral hasn’t just been about sadness it’s also been full of anger. Crowds have been shouting for revenge against America and Israel, and pictures of Trump have reportedly been thrown with stones during the procession. One woman at the funeral said it simply: “Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very tough day. We are not here to say goodbye to him. We are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.”

Iran’s Parliament Speaker also told the crowds during the funeral to “rise up” and “demand revenge,” adding that Iranians would not forget the blood of their leader.

Leaders From Around the World Show Up

Iran’s foreign minister thanked representatives from more than 70 countries for attending the funeral, and some reports say the number could go even higher, with over a hundred countries expected to send someone.

Russia sent former president Dmitry Medvedev as Putin’s special envoy. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif came in person, along with the country’s army chief. China sent a senior lawmaker, He Wei. India sent its deputy foreign minister and a state governor. Leaders and officials from Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan’s Taliban government, and even countries like Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Serbia also showed up.

One thing stood out clearly though no major Western country sent anyone. Western nations were absent from the guest list, while countries closer to Russia, China and the wider Middle East filled the seats instead. It says a lot about how the world is currently split when it comes to Iran.

The Message Iran Conveys:

By making this funeral so massive, Iran seems to be sending a clear message that despite the war, despite losing its top leader, the government is still standing strong and still has friends around the world. Bringing in so many foreign leaders, especially from Russia, China and its neighbors, shows Iran wants to prove it isn’t isolated, even if the West is staying away.

At the same time, peace talks between the US and Iran remain paused until the mourning period ends, with the next round expected to happen in Islamabad. So in a strange way, the whole world’s diplomacy is currently on hold, waiting for Iran to finish burying its leader.