Throngs of mourners pour into Tehran for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei funeral

By — Nasser Karimi, Associated Press Nasser Karimi, Associated Press By — Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/throngs-of-mourners-pour-into-tehran-for-irans-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-funeral Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Throngs of mourners pour into Tehran for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei funeral World Jul 6, 2026 12:45 PM EDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners dressed in black flooded into Iran's capital Monday for a procession as part of the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with throngs of people calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump. Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, and those of his family members who were killed Feb. 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, sat aboard a truck decorated to resemble the ornamental grating that surrounds the shrine of an imam. The massive turnout was encouraged by Iran's theocracy as a sign of strength, and it came as the Islamic Republic negotiates with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war. READ MORE: Khamenei's other sons appear at his funeral in Iran as new supreme leader remains in hiding Helicopter images aired on Iranian state television showed a massive crowd stretching from Tehran's Azadi, or Freedom, Square for kilometers (miles) down a multilane street of the same name. The crowd appeared to be larger than the one that turned out for the 2020 procession for the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, which drew over 1 million people. Authorities offered no immediate crowd count as the truck crept down the street. People alongside the truck and elsewhere on the route carried placards, signs and banners calling for Trump's death. "Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it's a very tough day," mourner Fatima Hassan said. "We are not here to say goodbye to him. We are here for revenge. And we will take revenge." Sea of mourners gather for Khamenei Mourners reached out to touch the truck, and some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing. Attendants, some on the ladders of fire trucks, sprayed misted water across the crowds to cool them in the heat. Authorities appeared concerned about the dangers of having a large crowd alongside the procession, with officials on loudspeakers urging the public to walk slowly, not to push and to stay to the edges of the street. The coffins were taken through the streets of Tehran on a roughly 12-hour journey to Mehrabad International Airport, where state television footage showed a truck approaching with the caskets. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. Khamenei w