Tens of thousands of mourners, including senior Iranian officials, packed Tehran on Sunday for funeral prayers for the slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as crowds chanted calls for revenge.
Among those in attendance for the second day of mourning for his death, according to footage broadcast on state media, were the brothers of the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. But the leader himself has not been seen in public since succeeding his father, who was killed at the onset of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in late February.
Ahmad Vahidi, the head of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also attended the prayers. He emerged from the sprawling Grand Mosalla mosque complex to mourners, many clad in black, who surged toward him.
“Revenge, revenge,” they chanted, a scene that was observed by New York Times reporters near him. Mr. Vahidi briefly greeted people before security personnel whisked him away.
The absence of Mojtaba Khamenei has become a point of scrutiny in a political system where public appearances by senior figures often carry symbolic weight and are carefully choreographed to project authority and stability. It has fueled questions about his health and about the country’s internal political dynamics, particularly at a moment of heightened regional tension and uncertainty over Iran’s political future.
Still, long before dawn, mourners grieving his father had begun arriving at the Grand Mosalla mosque. Many carried photographs of Mr. Khamenei and held banners calling for his death to be avenged. So many people overflowed the mosque that some prayed outside, standing shoulder to shoulder in the heat of the day — men beside women, children beside parents.
“He stood for the ideas that he believed in, and he was killed for it,” said Mohamed Abdi, who said he flew from Paris for the commemoration. Originally from Abyaneh, some 90 miles southwest of the capital, he said Mr. Khamenei’s killing had transformed him from a mere political and religious leader into a martyr and a national symbol of conviction and strength.
“It is that strength and cause that brought me from Paris to Tehran and made me shed tears today,” he said. “He was someone who did the things that he really believed in.”
For four decades, Mr. Khamenei shaped nearly every major center of power in Iran. Politically, he had final authority over strategic decisions, the military and state institutions. Socially, his government exerted control through restrictions, state media and cultural oversight. Religiously, he occupied the Islamic Republic’s highest office, blending political authority with clerical legitimacy.
He was killed along with several members of his family, including his wife, daughter and granddaughter. On Monday, his body is expected to be carried through Tehran in a public procession likely to draw another huge turnout in the heart of the capital.
On Sunday, for a second straight day, large parts of Tehran were transformed by the ceremonies. Streets were shut down and security forces stood at nearly every major intersection. Volunteers distributed food and water, while stations sprayed mist into the summer heat for people packed into public squares and sidewalks.
For many Iranians, Mr. Khamenei’s legacy is also tied to the government’s repression of dissent. Security forces have repeatedly answered protests with force, including the demonstrations driven by economic frustration that broke out in late December in which officials killed thousands of people, according to human rights groups.
Critics said his death should not erase that violent and oppressive history even as supporters gathered to mourn him.
Sanam Mahoozi contributed reporting.
