Large crowds of mourners carrying Iranian flags continue to gather at Tehran's Grand Mosalla, where former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is lying in state.
Religious chants honouring Khamenei's martyrdom echo throughout the capital as tens of thousands of people patiently wait to pay their final respects. Tehran's major roads are lined with national flags, black mourning banners, and religious symbols, while volunteers stationed across the city help manage the growing crowds, which are expected to reach into the millions.
Khamenei, who led Iran from 1989 until he was killed in an Israeli-US airstrike on February 28, is being given a state farewell that has transformed Tehran into a city marked by mourning, devotion, and political symbolism.
At the same time, another powerful image has become part of the city's landscape.
Across several areas of Tehran, posters displaying the faces of more than 150 children reportedly killed in a US strike on a girls' school in Minab have been placed alongside mourning banners. These photographs serve as a reminder that, even as Iran bids farewell to its most influential leader in decades, the wounds of the recent conflict remain deeply felt.
Following the ceremonies in Tehran, Khamenei's funeral procession is scheduled to travel to Qom on Monday before continuing to the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. He is expected to be buried in Mashhad on July 9.
Iranian Woman Travels from the UK to Attend Funeral
Among those who travelled to Tehran for the funeral is Mazia, an Iranian woman who flew from the United Kingdom specifically to participate in the ceremonies.
Speaking to India Today while making her way to the Grand Mosalla, she described her visit as an expression of solidarity with Iran.
She said she wanted to send a message that no one could destroy a civilisation with a history spanning 4,000 years, adding that anyone attempting to do so would ultimately harm their own country. Her remarks appeared to reference US President Donald Trump.
Her comments echoed statements made by Trump during the recent conflict, when he warned that Iran's "whole civilisation will die tonight" if tensions escalated further.
According to Mazia, however, the war had produced the opposite outcome.
She argued that the conflict had strengthened Iran by bringing its people together and reinforcing national unity in the face of external pressure.
Drawing comparisons with developments in other countries, she criticised what she described as Western interventionism.
Mazia said nations should resist those who exploit the resources of other countries, referring to Venezuela while accusing the United States of pursuing geopolitical objectives through military intervention.
Before joining the queue of mourners entering the Grand Mosalla, she also rejected the Western model of democracy, saying Iranians were not interested in the kind of democracy that had been introduced in countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
She added that the reported tragedy in Minab remained impossible to forget, saying it continued to weigh heavily on people's minds.
Mazia also urged ordinary Americans to question their government's involvement in conflicts across the Middle East, arguing that taxpayer money was being used to finance wars in which innocent children lost their lives.
Emotional Moments at Grand Mosalla
Funeral prayers have continued throughout the day inside the Grand Mosalla.
One image that has drawn particularly emotional reactions is a photograph of Khamenei's young grandchild displayed beside the late leader's coffin. Many mourners reportedly broke down in tears upon seeing it.
As thousands more people continue to arrive at the Grand Mosalla, Tehran reflects a nation in mourning—still grappling with the aftermath of war while witnessing a leadership that, at least for the moment, appears to have rallied significant public support.
