Tehran, Iran — Ekhbary News Agency
Hundreds of thousands of mourners thronged the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The vast crowds, some chanting vociferously for revenge against Western nations, particularly the United States and Israel, marked a somber yet charged atmosphere following his assassination on February 28.
Calls for Retribution Echo Amidst Mourning
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, alongside those of family members also killed in the airstrike that ignited the conflict, was carried through the capital. Daily life in Tehran ground to a halt as Iranian authorities closed streets and suspended air traffic for several days of national mourning, which commenced Saturday and will conclude Thursday with the leader's burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. The intensity of these calls underscores a deeply entrenched sentiment of retribution within certain segments of Iranian society.
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New Leader Absent as Sons Lead Prayers
Notably, Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader of Iran, did not attend his father's funeral. However, three of Ali Khamenei's other sons—Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud—were seen praying beside the coffins in the expansive courtyard of Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla on Sunday. A disappointed mourner, speaking to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, expressed her hope that Mojtaba Khamenei would have been present, stating, "Until the last moment, before the prayer began, I kept telling those around me that I hoped (Mojtaba Khamenei) himself would come. That was our only wish."
Newspapers Demand "Blood for Blood"
Threats of vengeance against those perceived responsible for Khamenei's death were palpable. Mourners displayed signs explicitly calling for the killing of both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US federal agencies have, for all intents and purposes, tracked Iranian threats against Trump since his 2020 order to kill Gen Qassem Soleimani. Several hardline Iranian newspapers amplified these demands, with "Asr-e Iranian" dedicating its front page to "Blood for blood," asserting it as "the right of the people and the duty of officials." Nobonyad newspaper provocatively asked, "Why shouldn’t we kill the one who killed our leader?"
