Tehran residents on Wednesday (July 1) pledged loyalty to slain Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei while expressing mistrust of U.S. talks.

The funeral ceremonies for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on Saturday (July 4) and conclude with his burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, ‌on July 9, state media reported.

Khamenei was killed on the first day of Israeli and U.S. airstrikes against Iran on February 28. The 86-year-old cleric had been at the helm of the Islamic Republic for 36 years.

During his rule, Khamenei built Iran into a powerful anti-U.S. force, spreading its military sway across the Middle East through proxy forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, while using an iron fist to crush outbreaks of unrest ‌at ⁠home.

The U.S. and Iran held technical talks in Doha on Wednesday (July 1) as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

STREETS, PEOPLE IN TEHRAN / SOUNDBITES FROM TEHRAN RESIDENTS ON KILLED SUPREME LEADER, ALI KHAMENEI'S, FUNERAL

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: TEHRAN, IRAN (JULY 1, 2026) (WANA - No use VOA Persian. No use BBC Persian. No use Manoto. No use Iran International. No use Radio Farda. No use Israel)

1. TRAFFIC IN STREET, BANNERS WITH IMAGE OF KILLED SUPREME LEADER, ALI KHAMENEI IN THE BACKGROUND

2. BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI

3. TRAFFIC, BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI, PEOPLE CROSSING

4. BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI, PEOPLE STANDING

5. FLOWING TRAFFIC, KHAMENEI’S FUNERAL BANNER, PEOPLE CROSSING

6. BANNER READING (Farsi): “The last meeting, Seyyed ali Khamenei, 4th and 5th of July, Tehran, Imam Khomeini Mosalla”

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN CITIZEN, MORTEZA JEDDI, SAYING:

“It is very painful, and in any case, considering that we have had him (Ali Khamenei), if I am not mistaken, for 37 years as our leader in the country, a leader whom I personally consider very compassionate and in reality one could say fully attentive to everything, it has been very painful for us (his absence), and I think that his absence may perhaps not be filled for us for a long time.”

8. BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI ON BRIDGE

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN CITIZEN, MORTEZA JEDDI, SAYING:

"People's demands must certainly be understood, and our red lines must be respected. And if we see that these red lines are not being respected, in my view we should not negotiate and must immediately end them.”

10. TRAFFIC, BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI, PEOPLE CROSSING

11. NEWSPAPER ON DISPLAY, WITH PICTURE OF KHAMENEI, HEADLINE READING (Farsi): "The Iranian civilisation is ready to renew its pledge with its historical leader”

12. KHAMENEI'S PICTURE ON NEWSPAPER

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN CITIZEN, REZA HOSSEINI, SAYING:

"Truly, when talk of negotiations comes up, it breaks our hearts. We have lost our leader and our chief commander, and difficult events have happened to us, but whatever the officials of the system, the Supreme Leader, may command, whatever his instructions and orders are, we will obey. We will be in agreement with them, God willing.”

14. TRAFFIC, BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI, PEOPLE CROSSING

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Farsi) IRANIAN CITIZEN, REZA HOSSEINI, SAYING:

"Look, given the history of past negotiations, I am not optimistic about them. It is a path that our martyred leader always said that if necessary we will pursue, but we do not have much trust in this path.”

16. BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI

17. TRAFFIC, BANNER WITH IMAGE OF KHAMENEI, PEOPLE CROSSING