Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - Iran has begun funeral ceremonies in Tehran for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with thousands gathering at the Grand Mosalla to pay their respects before the procession through the capital. Khamenei and four family members were killed on February 28 in Israeli airstrikes carried out on the basis of U.S. intelligence, setting off the delayed state mourning.

The body was displayed at the Grand Mosalla, where large crowds of mourners, clerics and officials gathered as the public farewell ceremonies got underway. Iranian state media said the funeral is being handled as a multi-day, multi-city procession, beginning in Tehran and later continuing to Qom and Mashhad, with additional commemorations planned along the route. Officials have described the mourning period as a major national event, with tight security and extensive crowd control measures in place.

The funeral also carries strong political symbolism because the killing of Khamenei has been tied by Iranian officials to the wider U.S-Israeli campaign against Iran. Reports say the ceremonies are intended not only as a farewell, but also as a display of unity and defiance after months of regional tension. The procession is expected to draw huge numbers and culminate in burial in Mashhad, at the shrine of Imam Reza.

The Tehran funeral procession marks a defining moment in Iran’s response to Khamenei’s killing and the wider war. What begins in the capital now becomes a staged national mourning ritual with both religious and political weight.