U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Fourth of July rally, marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
A performer at the funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people Sunday (July 5, 2026) in the capital, Tehran.
Mohammad Rasouli, a poet, drew calls of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Speaking to the crowd, Mr. Rasouli asked, referring to Trump: “Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?” That drew cheers.
A far larger crowd for the funeral than the day before attended the ceremony on Sunday (July 5). Mourners dressed in black walked to the site, carrying banners and flags honouring Khamenei and also calling for President Trump’s killing as he gave a speech in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before he was killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike in the opening moments of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country’s theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
In pictures | Iran pays last respects to slain leader Ali Khamenei
As a marathon six-day funeral ceremony begins, the coffins of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani are displayed during at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran, on Friday (July 3, 2026). The casket draped in the colours of the Islamic republic.
The supreme leader’s remains will lie in state day and night until Monday (July 6) within the Grand Mosalla complex, which opened to the public on Saturday (July 4) at 6 a.m. local time.
Top Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Head of Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, pay their last respects to the slain leader on Friday (July 3).
Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Khamenei, on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Women carry a portrait of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they arrive to pay their respects before the coffins of Khamenei.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian interacts with Iraqi President Nizar Amidi next to Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf as they attend the farewell ceremony.
From the Indian delegation, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain pay their respects at the funeral ceremony on Friday (July 3, 2026).
People’s Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti, along with others from the Indian delegration, pay tribute to Khamenei on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir offering prayers during the state funeral in Tehran on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir offer prayers.
Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at the farewell ceremony for Khamenei.
People of Iran wait to enter the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla to pay their respects to Khamenei. Authorities expect public mourning and grand processions to attract millions before the burial next week.
Hundreds of people had already gathered outside the venue. Strict security checks are required to approach the funeral site, and no vehicles are permitted within a radius of more than a kilometre.
While some were seen weeping, other people waited patiently for the viewing ceremony to open to the public in Tehran. In the background, poems and eulogies were being recited and religious chants broadcast, AFP reported early Saturday (July 5, 2026).
Volunteers prepare food distribution booths for visitors near the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla. The complex’s walls are covered with large portraits of Khamenei, black flags of mourning, and red ones symbolising martyrdom and vengeance.
People gather on the day of a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran July 4, 2026.
People attend a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran, July 4, 2026.
Volunteers prepare food distribution booths for visitors near the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, the venue for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026.
People gather on the day of a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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That is important as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war and as concern lingers that Israel could attack again.
The funeral was delayed as the war raged, and talks are on hold until it is over.
Published – July 05, 2026 10:18 am IST
