TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
The country's theocracy plans to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent to the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
That could provide a boost for Iran's government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war, and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.
Despite that, a powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged publicly for the first time in months for the funeral. Other top government officials likely will be on hand alongside foreign dignitaries as well in show of strength of Iran.
“As long as these people, who are chosen (by God), are on the field, we will definitely continue the same ‘no to humiliation’ policy that was founded by the Islamic Republic,” said Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, a volunteer preparing for the funeral Friday.
“We will continue our policy of pursuing independence, and decisions will be made inside the country, and the people will decide their own fate,” he said.
Caskets displayed in Tehran
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin sat at Tehran's Grand Mosalla alongside family members killed in the Israeli airstrike that came in the first moments of the war on Feb. 28.
The dead being honored include a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous leader who remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack.
Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries walked up to Khamenei’s casket as a military band played or a man sang prayers.
Video published by Iranian state media showed an earlier mourning ceremony Thursday night for Khamenei. The black-clad mourners, whom state media identified as coming from families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
Later, state media showed images of Khamenei’s casket draped by a red flag with white calligraphy reading “Ya Hussein,” a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It had been flying over the Imam Hussein golden-domed shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolizes both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.
Top general appears for first time in months
Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting Thursday about the funeral of Khamenei, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran's theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader's former home in downtown Tehran.
Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He hadn't been seen publicly since Feb. 8, weeks before the Iran war began. Israel killed top leaders in Iran’s military and government during the war, and has threatened the life of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as well. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.
It remains unclear whether Khamenei will appear at his father's funeral. His father appeared in 1989 at Khomeini's funeral, weeping visibly, as he began his journey to lead Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.
Israel repeatedly has threatened to kill Khamenei, something that drew a warning from Iran's joint military command Thursday.
“We warn the enemies of a strong Iran, especially the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional and extra-regional accomplices, to avoid any miscalculation and to consider the harsh and regret-inducing responses that the sons of the Iranian nation in the armed forces will give to any threat or aggression against our beloved country,” the military command said.
Funeral to go on for days
Beginning Saturday, Iran will hold the dayslong funeral for Khamenei and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities plan to shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei.
In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei's fist could be seen in banners and in a giant statue in Tehran's Enghelab Square. In his first message to the nation, read by a state television anchor, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father’s body after his death with raised, clenched fist.
The banners read in Arabic, English and Farsi: “We must rise.”
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
