People pass a large billboard with portraits of Iran’s late leader Ruhollah Khomeini (left) and slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei (right) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.
Atta Kenare | AFP | Getty Images
Iran is holding a six-day funeral procession for Supreme Leader Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for 40 years and was killed on the first day of the US-Israel war in February.
The ceremony begins on July 4, nearly four months after Khamenei’s killing, and ends on July 9. The procession will travel through cities in Iran and Iraq, ending in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city.
Sanam Baqir, head of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, told CNBC that the funeral “will be a strictly choreographed act of commemoration, continuity and regime control” but was delayed for months due to the fighting.
The event is expected to draw tens of millions of mourners and “could reveal tensions beneath the surface,” Baqir added.
The Islamic Republic is expected to take unprecedented security measures under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the Basij militia coordinating logistics, accommodation and crowd control in various cities.
Khamenei’s final resting place is in his hometown of Mashhad, a holy city with deep religious significance for Shiite Muslims, and where his father, the previous Ayatollah, is buried.
Khamenei’s funeral route and schedule
The funeral is planned as a national and religious procession, touring some of Shiite Islam’s most important sites in Iran and neighboring Iraq.
“This is essentially a political event that is being portrayed as a religious event, intended to project legitimacy at home and deterrence abroad,” Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNBC.
July 4-5: Tehran
The public farewell ceremony will begin at around 6 a.m. local time at Tehran’s Mosala Chapel. It is the traditional venue for major national religious gatherings and past funerals of Islamic Republic officials.
July 6: Tehran
The main funeral procession will travel approximately 10 kilometers from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi (Freedom) Square after funeral prayers for the slain Ayatollah and his family.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said participants could reach 20 million people, making it the largest rally in the city’s history.
People wave Iranian flags as they attend the funeral of Iranian Revolutionary Guards naval commander Alireza Tansiri, along with others killed in the US and Israeli attack on Iran, in Enherab Square in Tehran on April 1, 2026.
AFP | Getty Images
July 7th: Com
The procession then moves to Qom, the spiritual center of Shiite learning in Iran.
The event will be held between the Fatima Masmeh Shrine and the Jamkaran Mosque, two of the most important religious sites of the Twelve Shiites.
July 8: Najaf and Karbala, Iraq
The body will then be transferred to Iraq, where ceremonies will be held in Najaf and Karbala, home to the shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Hussein, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. Iranian authorities are coordinating preparations for the event with Iraqi authorities.
July 9: Mashhad
Khamenei will be buried in Mashhad, his birthplace and Iran’s holiest city.
The city is home to the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Shiite Islam, and has deep religious significance for millions of pilgrims. Mashhad is where Khamenei was born and where his father is buried. Iranian authorities estimate that between 8 million and 10 million people could attend the final burial ceremony.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei waves during a rally in Mashhad, Iran, March 21, 2023.
Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran | WANA | Via Reuters
Who will attend the funeral?
More than 30 countries have formally requested participation, the Tasnim news agency reported this week, citing Ali Akbar Pourjamsidian of the Revolutionary Guards.
Pakistan has confirmed its attendance, and senior Chinese lawmaker He Wei is also expected to attend, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.
Gulf Arab governments have not announced whether senior officials, foreign ministers or heads of state will participate.
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported on Wednesday that senior Iraqi officials, including President Nizar Amedi, would attend the funeral.
The new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would theoretically want to be there to appear and mourn his father’s death with the people. He has not been seen in public since ascending the throne after his father’s death. No matter what form it takes, it will likely be interpreted as a show of strength against the United States.
“Governance challenges loom, including serious economic problems, serious social discontent, fears of new hostilities, and a relatively unresolved and still-unseen new supreme leader,” Crisis Group Iran senior analyst Nathan Rafati told CNBC.
File photo: Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, second son of late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a conference in Tehran, Iran, on July 18, 2016.
Amir Khoroshi | via Reuters
security operations
The scale of the event requires careful planning.
Authorities announced that main roads around Tehran would be converted into temporary parking lots, while schools, mosques, universities and gymnasiums would be used to receive visitors. It is expected that flights will be disrupted and access to major cities will be strictly regulated.
Iran will hope to avoid another major security breach, such as the one at President Massoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration in July 2024, when Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a military guesthouse in Tehran while foreign dignitaries visited the country.
