:CHECKLIST
What you need to know: the funeral at a glance
[ ] 1. Khamenei was assassinated on 28 February 2026 during joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran
[ ] 2. The state funeral was delayed for four months by the ongoing Iran war
[ ] 3. Ceremonies run from 4 to 9 July 2026 across Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad
[ ] 4. His body lies in state at the Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran
[ ] 5. A red flag from the Imam Reza shrine covers his coffin, signalling his burial site
[ ] 6. Millions of mourners are expected. Authorities fear a stampede like the one that killed 56 at Soleimani's funeral in 2020
[ ] 7. He will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, alongside late President Ebrahim Raisi

:INFO
Who was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei was born in Mashhad in 1939 and became Supreme Leader of Iran in 1989, following the death of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He held the post for 34 years, longer than any other figure in post-revolutionary Iranian history. Over three decades he guided Iran through sanctions, proxy wars, nuclear negotiations, and waves of domestic protest. A survivor of a 1981 bomb attack that cost him the use of his right hand, he was known for his tight grip on the security apparatus, his support for the IRGC, and his deep hostility toward the United States and Israel. He was 86 when he died.


:STATS

:NOTE
Succession was not straightforward. The position of Deputy Supreme Leader was abolished in 1989 and Khamenei had named no official successor. An Interim Leadership Council was formed, including Assembly of Experts member Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei. The IRGC pushed for a rapid permanent appointment, and by early March Khamenei's son Mojtaba, himself wounded in the strikes, was confirmed as the new Supreme Leader. As of the funeral, he

:NOTE
Iran and the United States agreed a 60-day ceasefire in June 2026, opening talks in Qatar on a broader deal covering Iran's nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz. The funeral period is diplomatically sensitive: a mass outpouring of grief could harden hardliner positions just as negotiations enter a critical phase.


:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]
The Islamic Republic is a ship that will not sink. Those who want to see it sink will themselves be drowned before it.


:LINK
https://time.com/article/2026/07/03/iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-funeral-mass-mourning/
Time: Iran prepares for a week of funeral processions