Ali Khamenei funeral: Thousands of Iranians thronged the Imam Khomeini Grand Mossalla complex in Tehran on Saturday to bid final farewell to their former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others who were assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, 2026.
The coffins of the slain, which included Ali Khamenei and many of his family members killed in the strike, were put on display at the sprawling complex as Iranians draped in black, with mournful faces, came to pay their respects.
Heartrending scenes at Khamenei funeral
However, the heartbreaking scene of a tiny coffin placed next to Khamenei, drowned the Islamic Republic in deep mourning, as the massive crowd cried out in pain at the sight and called for revenge against those who killed her.
The small coffin, weighing barely 10 kilograms, rested next to the slain Supreme Leader’s mortal remains, did not belong to a soldier or any prominent leader, but to Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, his 14-month-old granddaughter who was killed along with her grandfather Khamenei and other family members on February 28.
The coffin, light in weight, yet evoked a pain so heavy and heart wrenching that many stood silently, staring at it, while others cried out in anguish, calling for revenge against her killer, the United States and Israel.
Who was Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani?
Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani was the granddaughter of Ali Khamenei, who was killed along with him and other family members in the February 28 joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Khamenei’s Beit Rahbari compound in Central Tehran.
Zahra’s coffin, draped in an Iranian flag with a photograph of her next to it, was placed beside Khamenei’s coffin. Mourners who came to pay their respects to the martyrs, would pause for a moment at the child’s coffin, look at the photograph, and then silently move on, visibly heartbroken at the sight.
The coffins of other members of Khamenei’s family killed in the February 28 strikes, were also on display at the complex. These included his eldest daughter, son-in-law, and Zahra Haddad-Adel, the wife of Ali Khamenei’s son and Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Iranians in tears at sight of Zahra’s coffin
Emotional scenes were witnessed inside the grand complex as a thick air of mourning prevailed at the ceremony with top Iranian leaders pay tributes to Ali Khamenei, his family members and other martyrs during the funeral service.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was seen in tears at the funeral, while Tehran’s chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, senior military officials, religious leaders, and representatives from various countries also paid tribute to Ali Khamenei.
Ali Khamenei funeral to last till July 9
The funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former Supreme Leader, is shaping up to be an event like no other, with a nearly 3,000-kilometer-long funeral procession planned from Tehran to the holy city of Karbala, finally concluding in Khamenei’s native Mashhad, one of Iran’s holiest cities, where he will be laid to rest.
Public memorial services will be held in Tehran and Qom from July 5 to 7, before the procession crosses borders into neighbouring Iraq where it will head to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and then back to Iran on July 9, when Khamenei will buried in his hometown of Mashhad.
ALSO READ: Ali Khamenei funeral: 3000-km procession, from Tehran to Karbala and…; here’s the complete itinerary of slain Iran Supreme Leader’s funeral and why it is significant?
Khamenei’s final farewell drew a crowd of millions, but the scene that touched most hearts was the tiny coffin of a 14-month-old girl, plunging all of Tehran into deep mourning.
The grief-stricken crowds raised slogans against the US and Israel, calling for revenge for the killing of Ali Khamenei and other martyrs, including baby Zahra, Al Jazeera reported.
First published on: Jul 04, 2026 06:44 PM IST
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