What to know about the funeral and burial of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

What to know about the funeral and burial of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 0 seconds of 1 minute, 2 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits 00:58 00:00 01:02 01:02 More Videos 00:58 US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits 00:47 Supreme Court rules that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook can remain in her job 01:29 Trump calls Supreme Court mail ballot ruling 'detrimental to honest elections' 00:46 Supreme Court strikes down limits on political party spending, backing Republican appeal 01:14 Araghchi insists Iran will oversee reopening Strait of Hormuz 00:50 Rainbow flags dot Iran protest in Seattle ahead of World Cup match 00:59 AP Top Stories July 1 00:47 Iranians celebrate World Cup draw but must wait to see if team progresses Close 1 of 6 | A procession passed by the coffins of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family on Friday, according to state media. 2 of 6 | Mourners touch the coffin of Zahra Haddad-Adel, daughter of former Iranian parliament speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and wife of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, during her funeral in Tehran, Thursday, July 2, 2026. According to Iranian authorities she was killed in the same strike that killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.(Fars News Agency via AP)(Fars News Agency via AP) 3 of 6 | A portrait of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an Iranian flag are displayed in the window of a bookstore ahead of Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 4 of 6 | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then Iran’s supreme leader, speaks during Friday prayers at Tehran University, July 30, 1999. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) 5 of 6 | People walk past a banner which shows a portrait of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral ceremonies in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 6 of 6 | Revolutionary Guard members and clerics mourn on the esplanade of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque as preparations are underway ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) By JON GAMBRELL Updated 8:08 AM MESZ, July 3, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Months after the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of its war with the United States and Israel, mourners will hold a dayslong funeral and burial for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The mourning period will see Khamenei’s body carried through cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Iran’s theocracy likely will encourage the public, government employees and paramilitary forces to fill the streets in his honor. Khamenei, who led Iran for nearly four decades, was killed on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly launched the war. The funeral was delayed as the war raged. The funeral will serve as a test for Iran’s battered theocracy and its ability to summon a mass show of support, particularly as the funeral comes six months after security forces’ crackdown on nationwide protests against Khamenei’s rule. A large turnout also could raise the risk of deadly stampedes. One marred the funeral of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. An uneasy ceasefire period, capped by an interim deal with the United States, likely gave authorities the confidence to hold the ceremony and have top officials appear. Israel throughout the war killed senior leaders, in at least one case using public appearances to track them. Trump’s ties to Erdogan sold him on this year’s NATO summit. Turkey may win big in other ways 5 MIN READ Powerful general appears in public as Iran prepares for Khamenei’s dayslong funeral 2 MIN READ 53 The year in review: Influential people who have died in 2026 17 MIN READ But it remains unclear whether Khamenei’s son, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his first public appearance during the ceremonies. The younger Khamenei, believed to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father, remains in hiding. Here’s what to know about the funeral set to begin Saturday in Iran’s capital, Tehran. Khamenei’s body will be on display at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, it will be paraded through the streets of Tehran before being taken to the Shiite seminary city of Qom, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the south. Tuesday will see Khamenei honored there. On Wednesday, Khamenei’s body will be taken to Karbala, Iraq, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who long has been a symbol of resistance for the Shiite faithful. Wednesday also will mark the anniversary of the protests against Khamenei’s rule, which saw thousands killed by security forces. Khamenei finally will be brought to Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. Authorities say Khamenei will be buried in Mashhad at the Imam Reza shrine. Imam Reza was Shiite Islam’s eighth imam. Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine each year. A hadith, or saying, states that anyone with sorrow or sin will be relieved by visiting there. Many prominent Shiite clerics have been buried there, as was Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024. Funeral for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini saw millions mourn On June 6, 1989, millions of Iranians turned out in the streets to bury Khomeini, who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The situation quickly got out of control. People beat their chests rhythmically in the summer heat, the wails of women cutting through the noise. Mourners rushed the casket, causing the 86-year-old religious leader’s white-wrapped body to tumble into the crowd. Initial reports said the chaos killed at least eight people and hurt some 11,000 others. There’s concern that a similar stampede may break out during Khamenei’s funeral, should the crowds be into the millions. The burial of the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani saw a stampede that killed at least 56 people and hurt more than 2000 in 2020. The funeral comes as Iran war interim deal is challenged The interim deal reached in June created a 60-day window to negotiate terms of a final deal to end the Iran war, including the issues of Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz. Technical talks began in Qatar this week, but they have been complicated by deep disagreements, and several days of crossfire between the U.S. and Iran, over the future of the strait. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto