People cross a street past a large billboard displaying portraits of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
Iran is planning a six-day funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader who led the Islamic Republic for four decades and was killed on the first day of the US-Israel war in February.
The ceremony will begin July 4, almost four months after Khamenei’s assassination, and ends on July 9. The procession will cover cities across Iran and Iraq before the final funeral in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city.
The funeral, “which will be a strictly organized show of mourning, the continuation of the regime’s control,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, told CNBC, that it was delayed for several months due to the fighting.
The event is expected to draw tens of millions of mourners, and “can expose the tension,” Vakil said.
The Islamic Republic is expected to implement unprecedented security measures, directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Basij army will coordinate logistics, accommodation and crowd management throughout the various cities.
Khamenei’s final resting place is in the holy city of his hometown of Mashhad, which is very important in Shia Islam, and where his father, the former ayatollah, is buried.
Khamenei’s funeral route and schedule
The funeral is designed as a secular and religious procession, covering some of the most important places in Shia Islam in Iran and neighboring Iraq.
“This is basically a political event masquerading as religious. It’s designed to demonstrate legitimacy at home and restraint abroad,” Alex Vatanka, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNBC.
July 4-5: Tehran
Public farewell ceremonies begin at Tehran’s Mosalla religious complex at 6 a.m. local time, the traditional site of the country’s largest religious gatherings and previous funerals for the Islamic Republic’s top figures.
July 6: Tehran
A large procession will travel about 10 kilometers from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi (Freedom) Square after the funeral prayers for the slain Ayatollah and his family.
The Mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani, said the number of attendees could reach 20 million people, making it the largest gathering in the city’s history.
People raise Iranian flags as they attend the funeral of Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and others killed in US-Israeli strikes in Iran at Enghelab Square in Tehran on April 1, 2026.
AFP | Getty Images
July 7: Qom
The procession then proceeds to Qom, Iran’s spiritual center of Shia learning.
The events will take place between the Shrine of Fatima Masoumeh and the Jamkaran Mosque, two important religious sites in Twelver Shiism.
July 8: In Najaf and Karbala, Iraq
The body will then be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala, home to the shrines of Imam Ali and Imam Hussein, among the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Iranian officials have coordinated arrangements with Iraqi authorities regarding these events.
July 9: Mashhad
Khamenei will be laid to rest in Mashhad, his birthplace and Iran’s holiest city.
The city is home to the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Shia 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 between 8 and 10 million people may attend the final burial ceremony.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raises his hand during a public meeting in Mashhad, Iran March 21, 2023.
Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader | WANA | via Reuters
Who is expected to attend the funeral?
More than 30 countries have formally requested to participate, Tasnim News Agency said this week, citing Ali Akbar Poorjamshidian of the IRGC.
Pakistan has confirmed it will attend, and He Wei, China’s top lawyer, plans to attend, China’s foreign minister said Thursday.
No Gulf Arab government has publicly announced that senior officials, foreign ministers or heads of state will participate.
Senior Iraqi officials, including President Nizar Amedi, will attend the funeral, Iran’s Fars News Agency said on Wednesday.
The new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in theory will want to be present and visible and mourn the death of his father and the nation. Since assuming office, he has not been seen in public following the death of his father. Any appearance can be read as a show of strength in the United States.
“Now come the challenges of governance, including deep economic problems, deep social discontent, the prospect of renewed conflict and a new untried — and yet to be seen, new Supreme Leader,” Naysan Rafati, senior analyst for the Crisis Group’s Iran, told CNBC.
PHOTOS OF A WOMAN: Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a rally in Tehran, Iran, on July 18, 2016.
Amir Kholousi Via Reuters
Safety performance
The scale of the event requires significant planning.
Authorities said major roads around Tehran would be turned into temporary parking lots, while schools, mosques, universities and sports halls would be used to accommodate visitors. Flights are expected to be disrupted and access to major cities strictly controlled.
Iran will be hoping to avoid another major security breach as foreign dignitaries flock to the country, such as during the inauguration of Masoud Pezeshkian in July 2024, where Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in a military-run guesthouse in Tehran.
