STORY: Women in Tehran wept as they listened to the Iranian national anthem on Saturday (July 4) during the public ceremony to mourn Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for 37 years before being killed at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Dressed in black and draped in the red, white and green flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran, mourners held up posters and A4 printed sheets with pictures of Khamenei and his son and successor as supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Khamenei, who was killed in February by the opening airstrikes of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel, in a show of public devotion to the Islamic Republic's theocratic state and revolutionary zeal.

After a day of Khamenei lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, his coffin, and those of several family members killed in the same airstrike, were brought to an outdoor stage for the general public to view from a distance.

Khamenei's coffin will remain in the Mosalla until Sunday (July 5) evening.

Burials are meant to be conducted within a day of death in Islam, but because of the risks of holding a big funeral during the war it was postponed until after last month's interim truce deal was agreed.

Authorities plan to mobilize millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging to buoy the numbers and encourage more of Iran's population of over 90 million to attend commemorations.

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STORY: Sisters Fatemeh Sadaat, 40, and Masoumeh Sadaat, 35, joined mourners at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla on Saturday (July 4) as week‑long funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began.

"I want to sacrifice my life and my children's lives for my leader," Masoumeh told Reuters. Ali Khamenei's absence is "devastating," she said, adding, "Iran is proud and, with hope in Imam Zaman, will be victorious."

Coffins of Khamenei and family members killed with him in a U.S.-Israeli strike were on display as women chanted in support of his son, the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei: "At your service, Sayyed Mojtaba."

For Fatemeh, the loss felt like "losing my father," as if "the whole world collapsed." She said she has "nothing to fear," citing faith in Imam Zaman, "master Seyyed Mojtaba," and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Khamenei – whose 37-year reign was brought to an end in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel – in a show of public devotion to the Islamic Republic's theocratic state and revolutionary zeal.

The vast courtyard of the complex, the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, was filled with mourners, many waving Iranian flags and carrying photographs of the slain leader.

Water misted from rooftops to cool mourners in the summer heat. Khamenei’s coffin will remain in the Mosalla until Sunday (July 5) evening.

His body was expected to be taken to Qom, Najaf and Kerbala, the great Shi'ite centres of Iran and Iraq, before being laid to rest on Thursday (July 9) in Mashhad, home to the country's holiest pilgrim shrine.

Authorities plan to mobilize millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging to buoy the numbers.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: TEHRAN, IRAN (JULY 4, 2026) (IRIB POOL - No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Iran International. No use Radio Farda. No use Israel.)

1. COFFINS OF IRAN'S LATE SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI AND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS ON STAGE-LIKE PLATFORM / IRANIAN FLAGS / AUDIO OF IRANIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

2. VARIOUS OF WOMEN GATHERING FOR THE PUBLIC FAREWELL CEREMONY OF KHAMENEI, SOME CARRYING PICTURES OF LATE KHAMENEI AND WAVING FLAGS / AUDIO OF IRANIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

3. COFFINS OF LATE KHAMENEI AND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS ON STAGE-LIKE PLATFORM / IRANIAN FLAGS / AUDIO OF IRANIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM

4. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LISTENING TO NATIONAL ANTHEM, SOME CARRYING FLAGS AND PICTURES OF LATE KHAMENEI

5. PEOPLE CRYING / PEOPLE WALKING WITH FLAGS

6. VARIOUS OF WOMEN CRYING, SOME CARRYING FLAGS AND PICTURES OF LATE KHAMENEI

7. COFFINS OF LATE KHAMENEI AND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS ON STAGE-LIKE PLATFORM / IRANIAN FLAGS

8. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING AT THE IMAM KHOMEINI GRAND MOSALLA / IMAGE OF LATE KHAMENEI ON BANNER IN THE BACKGROUND

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SHOWS: TEHRAN, IRAN (JULY 4, 2026) (REUTERS - No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Iran International. No use Radio Farda. No use Israel)

1. 40 YEARS OLD NURSE, FATEMEH SADAAT AND HER SISTER, 35 YEARS OLD, MASOUMEH SADAAT AND MASOUMEH’S CHILDREN LEAVING HOME TO ATTEND IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER’S FUNERAL

2. VARIOUS OF FATEMEH AND MASOUMEH AND CHILDREN WALKING DOWN STREET / JOINING OTHER MOURNERS

3. WOMAN IN CROWD WAVING LARGE FLAG WITH RELIGIOUS MESSAGING ON IT IN RED

4. MAN SPRAYING WATER ON CROWD TO HELP KEEP COOL

5. FATEMEH, HOLDING KHAMENEI’S PICTURE, AND MASOUMEH WALKING

6. CROWD PASSING BY POSTER WITH IMAGES OF IRAN’S LATE LEADER ALI KHAMENEI AND HIS SON, CURRENT SUPREME LEADER, MOJTABA KHAMENEI

7. FATEMEH AND HER NIECES TOUCHING PHOTO OF KHAMENEI

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 35 YEARS OLD IRANIAN MASOUMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

"I want to sacrifice my life and even children's lives, for my leader. I love him. He was our master and our leader, and his absence is devastating; my heart aches."

9. WOMEN TAKING PICTURES OF ALI KHAMENEI

10. FATEMEH AND MASOUMEH REACHING IMAM KHOMEINI GRAND MOSALLA WHERE THE CEREMONY IS HELD

11. WOMEN IN GRAND MOSALLA

12. FATEMEH IN GRAND MOSALLA COURTYARD

13. VARIOUS OF WOMEN BEATING THEIR CHESTS, A FORM OF MOURNING IN SHI'ITE ISLAMIC TRADITION

14. WOMAN CRYING

15. WOMEN BEATING THEIR CHESTS WHILE HOLDING PHOTOS OF BOTH KHAMENEI THE FATHER AND HIS SON

16. WOMAN CRYING

17. FATEMEH REACHING ARM TOWARD KHAMENEI’S COFFIN

18. FATEMEH AND MASOUMEH MOURNING

19. PICTURE OF ALI KHAMENEI

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 35 YEARS OLD IRANIAN MASOUMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

“From the bottom of my heart I am proud of the master (late leader). I love him very much, I will continue his path with my children. I will continue his path.”

21. WOMEN INCLUDING FATEMEH AND MASOUMEH CHANTING (Arabic) “At your service, Sayyed (of Prophet Muhammad's descent) Mojtaba”

22. MASOUMEH CRYING

23. FATEMEH CRYING WITH PICTURE OF KHAMENEI IN BACKGROUND

24. WOMEN IN MOSALLA COURTYARD / PICTURE OF KHAMENEI

25. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 35 YEARS OLD IRANIAN MASOUMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

“The day I found out, I was devastated. It felt as if the whole world had been taken from me, as if my life were ruined forever. I would rather have died myself, or even lost my children, than see a single hair harmed on his head. I was heartbroken. I waited and waited for the funeral, so I could come and pay my respects to my leader.”

26. FATEMEH AND MANSOUREH WALKING IN CROWD

27. COFFINS OF ALI KHAMENEI AND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WERE KILLED WITH HIM IN U.S.-ISRAELI STRIKE, ON DISPLAY / WOMEN WAVING FLAGS

28. FATEMEH AND MANSOUREH AMONG OTHER MOURNERS

29. WOMEN HOLDING UP PICTURES OF ALI KHAMENEI

30. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 40 YEARS OLD NURSE FATEMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

"It was a very strange feeling; I felt as though I'd lost something incredibly valuable. It was like losing my father, and it had a profound impact on us. When I heard the news, it felt as if the whole world collapsed on my head. It was really hard for me. I truly felt as though I had lost my father."

31. WOMAN WEEPING, BEATING CHEST

32. WOMAN CRYING

33. WOMAN IN CROWD WAVING RED FLAG / WOMEN CRYING BEATING THEIR CHESTS

34. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 35 YEARS OLD IRANIAN MASOUMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

“Iran is proud and, with hope in Imam Zaman (the awaited savior in Shia belief) will be victorious. Iran will always be victorious.”

35. WOMAN CRYING

36. CROWD IN FRONT OF PICTURE OF KHAMENEI

37. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) 40 YEARS OLD NURSE FATEMEH SADAAT, SAYING:

"I'm not worried about anything, because our Imam Zaman (Imam Mahdi) is with us, and master Seyyed Mojtaba is behind us. And with the country being secure and the IRGC there too, I have nothing to fear."

38. VARIOUS OF WOMEN IN COURTYARD