Iran officially opened the public phase of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s dayslong funeral on Saturday, drawing crowds into Tehran’s Grand Mosalla as the country tries to project unity during a fragile pause in U.S.-Iran diplomacy.
The update is a real new turn in the crisis because the ceremony has moved from preparations and elite viewing into the mass public phase. The scale of the turnout, the security response and the absence or appearance of new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei will now be read as political signals while talks with Washington remain on hold.
The Associated Press published images Saturday showing a crowd at the start of the funeral ceremonies at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque. AP also showed mourners waiting for Khamenei’s casket to arrive and Basij paramilitary forces setting up checkpoints in Tehran ahead of the event.
CBS News, citing Iranian state television and AFP journalists at the scene, reported that Iran began six days of public funeral ceremonies Saturday morning local time. CBS said thousands of mourners carrying red banners gathered at the Grand Mosalla and chanted “death to America” and “revenge, revenge” before the arrival of Khamenei’s coffin.
The Crowd Is Now the Story
Iranian officials have said they expect between 15 million and 20 million mourners to join the funeral events, according to CBS. If that scale materializes, the ceremony would become one of the largest state funerals in Iran’s history and a major test of whether the Islamic Republic can still command public turnout after months of war, economic pressure and leadership uncertainty.
The security operation is already heavy. CBS reported extensive traffic restrictions across the capital, while AP images showed Basij checkpoints around Tehran. The public phase is expected to continue through several days of ceremonies and processions before Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad.
The funeral’s political symbolism is unusually sharp. Khamenei was killed in February during U.S.-Israeli strikes, and the ceremonies are being staged while Iran’s interim ceasefire and negotiating track with the United States remain unsettled. Tehran is also still under pressure over the Strait of Hormuz, its nuclear program and the role of the Revolutionary Guard in any final settlement.
Mojtaba Khamenei Remains the Key Question
CBS reported that the coming days will be watched closely for signs of Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son and successor. He has not yet appeared publicly and is said to have been wounded in the same strikes that killed his father, though the extent of his injuries has not been made clear.
That absence matters. When Ali Khamenei attended Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s funeral in 1989, he was visible at a defining moment in the transfer of power. Mojtaba Khamenei’s continued invisibility would keep questions alive about his health, security and ability to consolidate authority at the top of the state.
The Guardian reported Friday that the six-day funeral has been designed as a display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. It described banners and symbols across Tehran urging supporters to rise up as authorities prepared for millions of mourners.
Diplomacy Is Still Waiting
The funeral is not separate from the crisis calendar. U.S.-Iran talks have been paused until after the mourning period, leaving negotiators to return later to the same hard disputes: freedom of navigation through Hormuz, sanctions relief, nuclear restrictions and guarantees against renewed strikes.
For Tehran, a massive funeral turnout strengthens the claim that the state has survived the war and retained domestic backing. For Washington, Gulf governments and Israel, the ceremonies are a live indicator of how hard Iran’s next negotiating position may become. The immediate diplomatic question is whether the funeral produces room for a settlement or locks leaders into a more defiant public stance.
Sources: Associated Press; CBS News/AFP live coverage; The Guardian.