Khamenei’s funeral spans five cities across Iran and Iraq, as whether Mojtaba will appear publicly remains the biggest suspense

Iran will hold a week-long funeral for Khamenei, with ceremonies covering five cities in Iran and Iraq. The outside world is watching whether the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will make a public appearance.

At the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed. Four months later, Tehran is holding a week-long funeral ceremony for him—spanning five cities across the two countries of Iran and Iraq—where millions of mourners are expected to attend.

According to Muslim customs, funerals are usually held as soon as possible. In 1989, the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, was held within days of his death. Khamenei’s funeral was postponed by four months, taking place against the backdrop of a fragile peace arrangement between Iran and the U.S. and continued instability in domestic politics.

The ceremony is scheduled during the Islamic month of Muharram and carries strong religious symbolism. For Shia Muslims, Muharram is closely associated with mourning, betrayal, and martyrdom—especially referring to the martyrdom of the 7th-century Imam Hussein. The funeral date also overlaps with the celebrations of the United States’ 250th Independence Day, and Khamenei’s body is planned to be on public display on U.S. Independence Day.

Iranian authorities say they have launched one of the largest logistics operations in the history of the Islamic Republic. Government employees, universities, unions, firefighters, soldiers, rescue workers, and religious “mourning groups” have all been mobilized to organize the funeral and manage the millions of “pilgrims” expected to travel to cities and holy sites across Iran and Iraq.

The first casket display event will begin at 6:00 a.m. local time on Saturday. Khamenei’s body will be placed on a raised platform built inside the Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall in Tehran. To cope with July’s extreme heat, firefighters have installed more than 6,000 high-altitude water-spraying devices in the square to cool the crowds.

During the funeral, Tehran’s international and domestic airports will be closed, and the cities through which the body passes have also declared national holidays. Tehran, with a population of 17 million, will carry out the largest traffic operation in the city’s history—banning private vehicles from approaching the funeral procession route and opening more than 700 parking areas.

According to Iranian media reports, the Basij paramilitary volunteer force will bake 50 million loaves of bread for mourners, and the capital will deploy 16 mobile bakeries. The Red Crescent Society said the authorities have mobilized 2,500 ambulances, 21 helicopters, 100 drones, and thousands of rescue workers, while also preparing more than 20 hospitals, 500,000 liters of intravenous fluids, and 20,000 classrooms.

On the third day, the funeral procession is expected to travel from eastern Tehran to the western edge. After that, Khamenei’s body will be taken to the holy city of Qom for additional ceremonies, then flown to Shia holy sites in Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, and finally transported to the Imam Reza (Imam Reza) shrine in Mashhad—where he was born—for burial.

Iranian officials expect attendance to range from 4 million to 15 million. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, as quoted by the Young Journalists Club affiliated with Iran’s state television, said the capital’s funeral could attract up to 20 million people.

Another major focus of the funeral is whether the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei will make a public appearance. His father, mother, and wife were all killed in the same U.S.-Israeli strike, and Mojtaba himself was injured in the attack.

According to foreign media reports, since the war broke out at the end of February, Mojtaba has been in hiding, communicating with his supporters only through written statements, and has never appeared in public or spoken. Iranian officials claim that he has fully recovered and is directing Tehran’s negotiations with Washington. If he appears publicly, it would help establish his legitimacy; if he does not, it may intensify doubts about his health and how power is actually operating in Iran.

During nearly four decades of Khamenei’s rule, the Revolutionary Guard gradually became Iran’s most important military, political, and economic force. Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said the Revolutionary Guard dominates strategic decision-making and the allocation of national resources.

Sina Azodi, director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, said the funeral will provide an opportunity for those who preserve Khamenei’s legacy to demonstrate strength. They will shape it as a signal of the Islamic Republic’s strength, resistance to external pressure, and resilience, and will mobilize as many people as possible to attend.