The second day of the funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, the slain supreme leader of the Iranian regime, began at dawn on Saturday, July 4, at the Tehran Mosalla, a large prayer complex in the Iranian capital.
According to the schedule announced by the organizers, the public farewell ceremony began at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, and will continue until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. After the farewell ceremony in Tehran concludes, Ali Khamenei’s body will be transferred to the city of Qom for funeral prayers and another procession, followed by a ceremony in Iraq, before he is ultimately buried in Mashhad.
#Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei had repeatedly warned of an uprising in 2019 and predicted that this uprising, which he interpreted as a "sedition"….https://t.co/WvKtjKahwH#IranProtests #IranRegimeChange #iranfreedom pic.twitter.com/g1z4BLic3c
— Iran Focus (@Iran_Focus) December 9, 2019
During Saturday’s ceremony, some participants chanted “O avengers of the martyred leader” and other slogans calling for vengeance. Elegies also included themes of revenge against the enemies of the Iranian regime. A red flag bearing the phrase “Kill Trump” was also seen among the crowd.
Iran’s regime’s Ministry of Intelligence also issued a statement on Saturday marking the state funeral and burial ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, declaring that it would take “revenge” against the United States and Israel for the killing of the former leader of the Iranian regime.
The statement said, “The wounded hearts of the people” will only find peace through “revenge against the perpetrators of this crime.” It also accused the United States and Israel of committing “the greatest crime and terrorist conspiracy in contemporary history.”
The multi-day ceremony is being held after a four-month delay, as Iranian officials have warned of possible attacks ahead of what they describe as a gathering of millions of mourners.
Meanwhile, Israeli threats against Mojtaba Khamenei, the current leader of Iran’s regime, along with concerns over crowd congestion, have significantly heightened security measures. Iran’s military has declared that any “miscalculation” would be met with a decisive and unprecedented response.
These warnings came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz again threatened that Mojtaba Khamenei, the current leader of Iran’s regime, remains on Israel’s assassination target list, according to the Israeli news outlet Ynet.
At the same time, senior Iranian regime officials who have appeared in public ceremonies in recent days face an increased risk of assassination. Whether Mojtaba Khamenei will attend these ceremonies remains uncertain. He has not appeared in public since his father and several members of Ali Khamenei’s family were killed on February 28, 2026, coinciding with the start of the war between Iran’s regime on one side and Israel and the United States on the other.
The Succession Crisis of Ali Khamenei and the Prospect of Overthrow
The threats facing Tehran are not limited to the United States and Israel. Inside the country, the regime also faces opposition groups that have clashed with regime forces in recent years.
Nevertheless, the appearance of several senior officials, including Ahmad Vahidi, an IRGC commander, at Friday’s July 3 ceremony may indicate a degree of confidence in the security arrangements, although potential threats are still considered serious.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had given Tehran one week to hold the funeral ceremonies for the former leader of the Iranian regime. His remarks could be interpreted as indicating that Washington has asked Israel to refrain from taking hasty action during this period.
The Associated Press reported that the start of Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies was accompanied by street closures and restrictions in Tehran’s airspace, disrupting daily life in parts of the capital.
Concerns over crowd control are also part of Tehran’s security calculations. During the funeral procession for Qassem Soleimani in Kerman in January 2020, a crowd crush resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
Meanwhile, Tehran has entered an unprecedented situation that, according to dozens of residents, resembles a large-scale propaganda and security operation aimed at demonstrating public support for the regime more than it does a religious or state ceremony.
While Iranian regime officials speak of massive public participation in the funeral ceremonies, accounts from residents of Tehran and other provinces present a different picture from that portrayed by state-run media. These accounts describe widespread government office closures, disruptions to daily life, the organized transfer of regime personnel from across Iran to Tehran, and the coercion of large numbers of government employees and even some private-sector workers to attend the ceremonies.
Under the current circumstances, the Iranian regime is in urgent need of a large turnout by its supporters at these ceremonies so that it can present the event as a demonstration of its strength.
