Large crowds poured into the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where pro-regime demonstrators displayed posters threatening former President Donald Trump and several of his prominent allies. Footage from the capital showed placards with red crosshairs placed over the faces of Trump, Peter Thiel, Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer and others, accompanied by the warning: “Sooner or later, your heads will roll.” Other posters showed JD Vance and Pete Hegseth under crosshairs alongside the phrase: “There will be blood.” As Khamenei’s coffin was carried through Tehran, chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” echoed through the streets. Some mourners were also seen burning U.S. and British flags and throwing rocks at images of Trump, while an effigy of Trump hanging from a noose appeared near the front of the procession. Khamenei, 86, was killed on Feb. 28 in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Tehran that hit his residence at the start of the war. His 36-year rule over Iran was defined by harsh repression at home and support for anti-American militant groups across the region.
Family mourned as son remains absent
Beside Khamenei’s coffin were the coffins of relatives killed in the same strike: his wife, his daughter-in-law and his infant granddaughter. One notable absence was his son Mojtaba, who has succeeded him as supreme leader but did not appear at the funeral. He was reportedly wounded in the attack and is believed to be in hiding. Trump, responding to the funeral proceedings, reportedly remarked that with Iran’s leadership gathered in one location, it would take only “one shot” to eliminate them all, according to Axios. The president added that the United States would not take such action because it still wanted someone available to negotiate with.
World leaders gather as peace talks loom
The funeral comes only weeks after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding, brokered by Pakistan, that paused fighting on all fronts and established a 60-day extension of the ceasefire. The two countries are expected in the coming months to pursue negotiations on a final peace agreement, including issues tied to Iran’s nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Representatives and leaders from Russia, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and several other countries have traveled to pay their respects during the funeral events. Over the weekend, a city square in Tehran filled with tens of thousands of mourners, including both men and women, as the country marked the death of its longtime leader. Three of Khamenei’s four sons were filmed crying in front of his coffin.
