Thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran on Monday (6) for the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with many chanting calls for revenge over his killing and rejecting negotiations with the United States.
"We don't want a deal. We want Trump's head!" crowds shouted, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Khamenei on Feb. 28.
The funeral comes after five weeks of conflict with Israel and the United States and is being presented by Iran's leadership as a display of national unity and resilience.
Gholamreza Khanbabai, 58, who also attended the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, said Khamenei's death had generated intense emotion among mourners.
"I was in my twenties back then. People were enthusiastic about paying tribute but also devastated," he said of Khomeini's funeral.
Khomeini died on June 3, 1989, and his funeral three days later drew what was then the largest crowd in Iran's history. State news agency IRNA reported that 10 million people attended.
The ceremony descended into chaos as mourners surged toward the vehicle carrying Khomeini's body, tearing his burial shroud and causing his remains to fall to the ground. The crush killed about 10 people and injured more than 10,000.
"If I had to compare this ceremony to that one, I'd say the crowd seems more enthusiastic this time," Khanbabai said.
Khamenei's funeral follows widespread anti-government protests in recent years that rights groups say were met with a crackdown that killed thousands of people, as well as the conflict that resulted in the deaths of Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.
A 65-year-old mourner, who gave only his surname, Kazemi, said Khamenei's killing was "the second shock" for Iranians after Khomeini's death.
"We want revenge because if nothing is done, the situation will get worse," he said, holding a picture of Trump marked with crosshairs.
Like several other mourners, Kazemi said he rejected negotiations between Tehran and Washington that led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding last month.
Ali Heydari, 50, also dismissed the agreement.
"What does this memorandum of understanding mean? We have neither peace nor friendship with the one who killed our father," he said, referring to Khamenei.
"These are merely the words of hypocrites -- people who think only of their own interests and do not understand the people," he added, echoing the position of hardliners opposed to any compromise with Washington.
Iranians began gathering in central Tehran before dawn for the procession. No official attendance figures have been released, but the turnout appeared to be the largest since the 2020 funeral of General Qasem Soleimani, which authorities said drew seven million people. (AFP)
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