Khamenei's funeral expected to span five cities in two countries, with millions attending

Iran expects millions to attend Khamenei's funeral, with ceremonies spanning Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and finally his hometown of Mashhad.

03.07.2026

By Sam Hamad

Source:https://www.newarab.com/news/khameneis-funeral-expected-span-five-cities-two-countries

Former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei's funeral will begin on Friday, 3 July, more than four months after he was killed in a US-Israeli strike on his Tehran compound on 28 February.

The ceremonies will run until Thursday, 9 July, with Iranian authorities saying up to 35 million people could attend events across Iran and Iraq.

The funeral will also mark the first major public event of Iran's new leadership.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as supreme leader, is expected to miss the ceremonies because of security concerns after reportedly being wounded in the same strike.

Rather than taking place in a single city, the funeral will move through Tehran, Qom, Najaf and Karbala before ending in Mashhad. Each stop reflects a different aspect of Khamenei's life and the religious and political foundations of the Islamic Republic.

Tehran (3-6 July): The seat of political power

Ceremonies begin in Tehran on 3 July with an official reception for foreign delegations before public mourning at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla on 4 and 5 July. The capital will then host the main funeral procession on 6 July.

As Iran's political centre, Tehran provides the backdrop for the state's first public display since Khamenei's death.

Officials have announced extensive security and logistical preparations, including round-the-clock mourning, reinforced transport arrangements and measures to accommodate the expected crowds.

Qom (7 July): Iran's clerical centre

On 7 July, Khamenei's body will travel to Qom, home to Iran's Shia seminaries, or hawza, and one of the principal sources of the Islamic Republic's religious legitimacy.

The city has long been the country's foremost centre of Shia scholarship, educating generations of senior clerics and playing a central role in the religious foundations of the Islamic Republic.

Given Qom's status, many observers expected Khamenei could ultimately be buried there.

Instead, the city serves as the funeral's religious stage before the procession continues, reflecting its enduring role as the heart of Iran's clerical establishment while leaving Khamenei's final resting place to carry a different symbolism.

Najaf and Karbala (8 July): Linking Iran to the wider Shia world

On 8 July, ceremonies move to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, taking the funeral beyond Iran's borders, though his body will remain in Iran.

Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, is one of Shia Islam's foremost centres of learning, while Khamenei also spent part of his youth studying in the city's seminaries.

Karbala, revered as the site of Imam Hussein's martyrdom, occupies a central place in Shia belief and spirituality.

The Iraqi leg of the funeral also requires close coordination with Iraqi authorities and the custodians of the holy shrines, reflecting both the logistical scale of the ceremonies and Iran's deep religious, political and security ties with Iraq, including Tehran-aligned armed factions that form part of its so-called "Axis of Resistance".

Mashhad (9 July): Homecoming and Iran's holiest shrine

The funeral concludes on 9 July with Khamenei's burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, the city where he was born in 1939 and which shaped his early religious life before he rose to become Iran's supreme leader.

Mashhad is Iran's holiest city and home to the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Twelver Shiism, whose tomb is among the religion's most important pilgrimage sites and attracts millions of visitors each year. Burial within the shrine complex carries immense religious significance, making it one of the most revered destinations for Shia Muslims.

The choice of Mashhad is also symbolically significant. While Qom remains Iran's foremost centre of Shiia scholarship, Khamenei's relationship with parts of the city's clerical establishment was at times uneasy.

After succeeding Ruhollah Khomeini as supreme leader in 1989, some senior clerics questioned whether he possessed the religious credentials traditionally associated with the office, as he had not been recognised as one of Shia Islam's leading maraji' (sources of emulation).

Although his political authority later became firmly established, burial at the Imam Reza shrine roots Khamenei's legacy in both his birthplace and one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, shifting the symbolism away from the clerical establishment towards pilgrimage and popular devotion.

Preparations in Mashhad have centred on the Imam Reza shrine and the surrounding roads ahead of Thursday's burial, with the Astan Quds Razavi foundation, which administers the shrine, expected to oversee the religious and ceremonial aspects of the final rites.