Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral has been going on for nearly a week, but today is the final day.
The final stage of the funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran, set off through the holy city of Mashhad on Thursday afternoon, after days of public ceremonies that drew hundreds of thousands of mourners in Iran and Iraq.
The procession in Ayatollah Khamenei’s hometown began hours later than scheduled and unfolded against the backdrop of renewed strikes between the United States and Iran. Iranian officials said that U.S. forces had struck railway bridges in the country’s northeast, disrupting passenger services on the route between Tehran, the capital, and Mashhad...
Tens of thousands of mourners gathered to watch the truck carrying Ayatollah Khamenei’s coffin as it traveled through Mashhad to the sprawling Imam Reza Shrine where his body will be buried.
Regime friendly reports are claiming 30 million people are participating in the funeral, making it the largest in world history. I don't think those figures are accureate but it's definitely a large number of people. Khamenei's coffin was apparently transported in a refrigerated grocery truck.
For some strange reason, Ali Khamenei's corpse was transported in a Finnish grocery store truck: pic.twitter.com/71dnclsVvZ
— Vatnik Soup (@P_Kallioniemi) July 9, 2026
This is the end of it showing the size of the crowd. It's massive.
🇮🇷 Khamenei's final funeral prayer just concluded in Mashhad. Led by his son Mostafa.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 9, 2026
Not Mojtaba, the man who is supposed to be running Iran, who has not been seen in public a single time since the February strike that killed his father.
Iran just buried its supreme leader.… pic.twitter.com/Sj8KaKmnzf
As noted in the tweet above, the current leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, still hasn't been seen in public for some reason.
Iranian state television broadcast footage of Mostafa Khamenei, the eldest son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading the funeral prayer over his father’s body inside the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad as part of the burial ceremony.
State media had earlier announced that the prayer would be led by a senior Shiite cleric based in Qom. It was not clear why Mostafa Khamenei led the prayer instead, but his appearance came as his brother, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded their father, has not appeared at the funeral ceremonies.
Perhaps he's worried about becoming the next target if he's seen in public. Iran has had two nights of U.S. attacks already and that may not be the end of it.
While officials in both countries have threatened further escalation, so far it is the United States that has landed most of the blows in the latest volley.
The U.S. military said it had hit about 170 targets in the past two days, while Iran’s strikes, which targeted U.S. military bases in several Middle Eastern countries, have been relatively few and largely intercepted by air defense systems.
And it's fair to say the enmity cuts both ways. Iran has been plastered all week with giant banners, in English, promising to murder President Trump. They set up a petition for people to sign.
🚨 The Iranian regime continues to amplify threats against the US President
— Ehsan Eghbal Eslami (@Ehsaneghbale) July 8, 2026
Fars News Agency (IRGC-affiliated) released this video titled “Signatures on the petition to kill Trump”.
Khamenei's funeral used to project strength through propaganda for a regime at its weakest. https://t.co/XbwntyajNG pic.twitter.com/3WZF3y7Jwd
These giant banners are everywhere.
Iran is currently plastered with massive “Kill Trump” posters while hostilities with the regime continue.
— Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) July 9, 2026
And Mamdani’s top international affairs official still thought this was the right moment for an official meeting with Iran’s UN ambassador.
Stunningly bad judgment. https://t.co/7KnQpyAF29 pic.twitter.com/HA6cclPx5p
Iranian newspapers are echoing the same threats.
Iranian newspaper: “Trump must not stay alive. We want Trump's head.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) July 8, 2026
Truly sick people. pic.twitter.com/gQ0xiObLsC
🇮🇷 Iran: "We will kill Trump." Banners demanding blood for the martyred leader line the streets of Mashhad. pic.twitter.com/QksR8biHNk
— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) July 9, 2026
That particular building may be gone now.
This is a symbolic but exemplary action by the United States Air Force.
— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) July 9, 2026
The IRGC Intelligence building, Sazman-e Hefazat-e Sepah, in Mashhad, Iran, where the hoarding reading "We Will Kill Trump" was installed, has been destroyed in today's strike. pic.twitter.com/GvCxyYGaWg
President Trump is clearly aware of the threats. He spoke about it yesterday at a press conference.
.@POTUS: "I'm number one on the kill list for Iran... but I don't really care because I'm doing my job, and I'm doing it, I hope, better than anybody's ever done it." 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/P47VkauTnq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 8, 2026
He repeated that on Air Force One. "If I go, you go," he told the media.
🚨 NOW: President Trump says the press pool were likely told to close their window blinds on Air Force One because of a POSSIBLE THREAT from IRAN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 8, 2026
"I have a threat all the time!"
"If I GO, YOU GO!" 😭
"Perhaps you want to change professions."
"If they asked you to close your… pic.twitter.com/yepu9UUSya
There are apparently fresh strikes on Iran happening in the past few hours but the U.S. is said to have denied carrying these out.
Several heavy airstrikes hit Iran in the past few hours.
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) July 9, 2026
According to an unnamed senior U.S. defense official, these strikes were not carried out by the United States.
If not the U.S., then who?
Three guesses, and the first two don't count. pic.twitter.com/A12WkbZm1B
It's currently just after midnight/Friday morning in Iran. So we may have to wait a bit to find out what happened here. Iran has been firing missiles at a lot of its neighbors this week. Maybe they responded. Or maybe this is the U.S. again. Stay tuned.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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