The people of Iran on Friday (July 3, 2026) gathered to pay their final respects to the country’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of a week of funeral ceremonies, with officials and international dignitaries converging on Tehran, where his body is lying in state.
Khamenei’s coffin had been carried into the complex earlier — draped in a flag of the Islamic republic and with his black turban placed on top.
Iran holds funeral for Ali Khamenei: Who is attending?
Iranian authorities have planned a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies to commemorate Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic republic as its number one from 1989 until his death aged 86 on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war on February 28. Representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend the funeral, with other allies including China and Iran’s neighbours in the Caucasus region saying they would be sending representatives.
Indian delegation in Tehran: Bihar Guv. Hasnain and MoS Margherita attend Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremony
But there was no sign — as yet — of Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named supreme leader a week after the killing of his father but is yet to appear in public.
The coffin will lie in state there until Monday (July 6), when a procession will pass through Tehran. On Tuesday (July 7), it will move to the clerical hub of Qom, then on Wednesday (July 8) to cities holy to Shia Muslims in neighbouring Iraq, and finally proceed for burial on Thursday (July 9) in Khamenei’s home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
Photo:
Reuters
As a marathon six-day funeral ceremony begins, the coffins of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani are displayed during at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran, on Friday (July 3, 2026). The casket draped in the colours of the Islamic republic.
Photo:
AP
The supreme leader’s remains will lie in state day and night until Monday (July 6) within the Grand Mosalla complex, which opened to the public on Saturday (July 4) at 6 a.m. local time.
Photo:
Reuters
Top Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Head of Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, pay their last respects to the slain leader on Friday (July 3).
Photo:
Reuters
Members of Basij paramilitary forces stand guard outside the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, on the day international delegates participate in a farewell ceremony for Khamenei, on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Photo:
AP
Women carry a portrait of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they arrive to pay their respects before the coffins of Khamenei.
Photo:
Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian interacts with Iraqi President Nizar Amidi next to Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf as they attend the farewell ceremony.
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PTI
From the Indian delegation, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain pay their respects at the funeral ceremony on Friday (July 3, 2026).
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ANI
People’s Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti, along with others from the Indian delegration, pay tribute to Khamenei on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Photo:
AFP
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir offering prayers during the state funeral in Tehran on Friday (July 3, 2026).
Photo:
AFP
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir offer prayers.
Photo:
Reuters
Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at the farewell ceremony for Khamenei.
Photo:
Reuters
People of Iran wait to enter the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla to pay their respects to Khamenei. Authorities expect public mourning and grand processions to attract millions before the burial next week.
Photo:
Reuters
Hundreds of people had already gathered outside the venue. Strict security checks are required to approach the funeral site, and no vehicles are permitted within a radius of more than a kilometre.
Photo:
Reuters
While some were seen weeping, other people waited patiently for the viewing ceremony to open to the public in Tehran. In the background, poems and eulogies were being recited and religious chants broadcast, AFP reported early Saturday (July 5, 2026).
Photo:
Reuters
Volunteers prepare food distribution booths for visitors near the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla. The complex’s walls are covered with large portraits of Khamenei, black flags of mourning, and red ones symbolising martyrdom and vengeance.
Photo:
Reuters
People gather on the day of a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran July 4, 2026.
Photo:
Reuters
People attend a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran, July 4, 2026.
Photo:
Reuters
Volunteers prepare food distribution booths for visitors near the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, the venue for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, July 3, 2026.
Photo:
Reuters
People gather on the day of a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Published – July 04, 2026 08:31 am IST