Funeral ceremonies begin for Iran's Khamenei amid fragile ceasefire

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(The Center Square) – Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered Saturday to begin a days-long funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Large crowds converged on Tehran to pay their respects to the leader, who was killed by an airstrike on Feb. 28 in a joint operation by Israel and the United States against Iran.

Iranian officials estimated that between 12 and 20 million people will attend funeral ceremonies, which they've labeled the "funeral of the century." Videos of the initial gathering show crowds filling streets across Tehran, waving flags and chanting—including "death to America."

Delegations from dozens of countries attended the Saturday ceremony, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Reza Pahlavi, the former, now-exiled crown prince of Iran, addressed the foreign representatives in a statement on social media.

"To the foreign representatives in Tehran to mourn Iran’s deceased dictator, Ali Khamenei: Iran is not mourning him," Pahlavi said. "The regime is spending vast amounts of the Iranian people's wealth to stage this propaganda spectacle, yet not a single democratic leader attended. What you see today is not a nation in grief for its ruler. It is a nation filled with righteous anger, and that anger and heroic bravery will bring down what remains of this criminal regime."

Khamenei's body will lie in state for three days, alongside other family members who were also killed in the February strike. He will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

Since Khamenei's death, fighting across the region has continued despite diplomatic efforts.

Just a few weeks ago, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a 60-day ceasefire. The truce has remained fragile, however, with both sides repeatedly accusing the other of violating the agreement.

On June 26, the U.S. launched retaliatory airstrikes after the Islamic Republic reportedly targeted a commercial cargo ship with drones as it transited the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. and Iran later agreed to stand down and resume talking.

President Donald Trump addressed the conflict in a Friday speech at Mount Rushmore.

"We knocked the hell out of Iran," Trump said. "They are dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral because we are nice."