Hezbollah representatives paraded in Iran on the third day of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral, Iranian media reported on Monday.
Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who was reportedly eyed by Israel and the US to be Iran’s new leader following Operation Roaring Lion – was also seen attending the funeral. Hundreds of Iranians were seen marching, waving red flags at the funeral as symbols of revenge.
The coffins of the slain leader and four of his family members were driven in a large truck through the streets, while fire hoses sprayed water from above to keep the marchers cool.
As they passed under a bridge, mourners hurled stones at a billboard hung from above, which showed US President Donald Trump with a bullet aimed at his head.
“The US killed our father,” it read. “We won’t let you go!”
Khamenei was killed back in February during the opening strikes of Operation Roaring Lion.
His funeral, delayed due to the ongoing war, began on Saturday with chants of “death to America, death to Israel,” while the ceremonies are expected to last at least a week with events across the country.
Iran’s military spokesman said: “We have already stated many times that we are on full alert. We took advantage of the ceasefire period to improve our operational capabilities, updated our target bank, and if the enemy commits any act of aggression or violation of sovereignty, it will certainly receive a more overwhelming response than it has received in the past, and one that will make it regret it more than ever.”
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, have gathered in the Mosalla neighborhood. The Iranian metro railway network said it had clocked seven million trips from Saturday evening to Sunday morning as people flocked to the center.
Over the coming days, authorities plan to mobilize millions of people for large processions, offering transport, food, and lodging.
In video posts on other state media news sites, mourners were also heard chanting, “Our slogan is one word: Revenge, revenge,” and “We will kill, we will kill he who killed our Imam.”
Khamenei’s body is expected to be taken to Qom, Najaf, and Karbala, the great Shi’ite centers of Iran and Iraq, before being laid to rest on Thursday in Mashhad, home to the country’s holiest pilgrim shrine.
Successor Mojtaba Khamenei not attending amid assassination fears
The New York Times reported over the weekend that the absence of Khamenei’s son, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, stemmed from the regime’s fear that Israel would attempt to assassinate him during the event.
State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex.
There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on February 28 at the start of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, people close to his inner circle told Reuters.
In a Friday statement, the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya, Ali Abdollahi, threatened Israel and the US against making “any miscalculation” during the week-long funeral, warning of “harsh and regrettable responses” in the case of an attack.
Khatam al-Anbiya is the joint command of Iran’s military.
The statement followed Khamenei’s coffin being displayed in an “unannounced event” in Tehran on Thursday, according to footage shared by the State TV broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), on X/Twitter.
Standing alongside the displayed coffin are several Iranian officials, including IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi in his first public appearance since the start of the Israel-Iran War.
Ariella Roitman, Walla, Reuters, and Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.