Intensive preparations and security measures took place on Friday for late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s massive funeral, as foreign officials and delegations began arriving in the country from dozens of nations to pay their respects.
The heightened security measures, including airspace restrictions and mass deployment of security forces, began this week and extended into Friday.
via AFPThe event is being described as a "multi-city" funeral that will span several parts of Iran, including Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad.
According to authorities, more than 10 million citizens are expected to gather in Tehran alone, with millions more expected to take part in ceremonies in the cities of Mashhad and Qom.
Large-scale commemorations and ceremonies are also set to take place in Iraq, where the late Iranian leader was also revered. Tehran has coordinated these matters with authorities in Baghdad.
The late supreme leader’s coffin arrived at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla in Tehran on Friday.
Iranian authorities are finalizing major security and logistical arrangements ahead of a multi-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, following his assassination in a US-Israeli attack on 28 February. Today, the late leader's casket arrived at the Imam Khomeini Grand… pic.twitter.com/JMjoJ8J36e
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) July 3, 2026Several Iranian officials were seen paying respects to the assassinated leader, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Footage also showed Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reciting a prayer in front of Khamenei’s coffin along with members of his delegation.
Delegations representing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Amal Movement and the Iraqi resistance faction Kataib Hezbollah were also present.
🇮🇷 As world leaders landed in Tehran for Khamenei’s funeral, they were met with a memorial for the Minab school attack inside the airport.
Messaging doesn’t get more deliberate than this.
Writer: Monicapic.twitter.com/lGZtuANABT
Representatives from over 100 nations are expected to attend and have begun arriving, including from Turkiye, India, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Ceremonies will continue on Saturday and Sunday with the body lying in state at the Grand Mosalla before a funeral procession through Tehran on Monday. Further rites are scheduled in the holy city of Qom, followed by ceremonies in Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf in Iraq," IRNA reported.
Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Asim Munir, and their delegation paid their respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. pic.twitter.com/bCiwMLbMu1
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 3, 2026Public farewell ceremonies will officially begin on July 4 at 6:00 am. The late supreme leader is set to be buried in the city of Mashhad on July 9.
The night before the preparations kicked off on Friday, the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, was seen paying respects to Khamenei’s coffin in images released by Iranian media on Thursday evening. General Vahidi had not been seen in months.
Senior leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas have paid their final respects to Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, during funeral ceremonies in Tehran.
Among those attending was Mahmoud Qamati, Deputy Head of Hezbollah’s Political Bureau, who led a Hezbollah… pic.twitter.com/f6oZInk8N7
An Iranian military official warned the US and Israel on Thursday that any attack on the funeral or during its preparations will be met with a severe response.
"We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country," said Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
IRGC caretaker commander Ahmad Vahidi made his first public appearance since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, seen paying respects beside the coffin of Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran ahead of funeral ceremonies beginning July 4.
￭ The ceremony at Tehran's… pic.twitter.com/evi5ehyBKy
In February 2025, a squadron of Israeli fighter jets flew over the funeral of late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah – who was assassinated by Tel Aviv in a brutal attack on Beirut in September 2024.
Khamenei was assassinated by the US and Israel on February 28 – the first day of the latest war on Iran.
Several members of his family were killed in the attack, including his wife, daughter, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. His son Mojtaba, who was injured in that attack, has succeeded him as supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.
Ghalibaf and Araghchi in tears today at the farewell ceremony for Ali Khamenei and his family in #Iran. pic.twitter.com/heCafNagta
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) July 3, 2026Khamenei had refused to leave his residence despite warnings about a plot to kill him, telling his security team that he would only permit being moved to a safer location if the same could be done for 90 million Iranians.
Similarly, Nasrallah had also refused to leave Beirut despite warnings prior to his assassination.
Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 16:40The New York Times has issued a new report citing unnamed US officials who believe that Israel came close to assassinating Iran's top negotiators Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to the report, a concrete Israeli threat against Ghalibaf and the FM emerged while they were traveling back to Iran from Islamabad following talks with US Vice President JD Vance on April 12.
Source: Mehr newsPrior to that point, during active fighting, Israel had worked its way through killing much of Iran's senior leadership starting with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but questions lingered over whether the country's top negotiators - who have come to represent Tehran on the global stage - could be deemed legitimate targets.
Even as Washington and regional brokers stepped in to try and halt the prospect of runaway conflict, wherein the US would find itself in yet another 'forever war' and quagmire, Israel still floated the potential for more assassinations targeting top Islamic Republic leadership.
The NYT, citing officials, sets up the mid-April near-miss incident as follows:
In April, Mr. Ghalibaf was set to travel to Islamabad to meet with Vice President JD Vance. But Iranian security officials were concerned that Israel would use the opportunity to assassinate Mr. Ghalibaf or Mr. Araghchi to derail the talks, the officials said.
Iranians sought guarantees from the United States, through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries, that Israel would not carry out any covert operations targeting the Iranian delegation, the officials said.
Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian airplanes carrying a delegation of more than 70 Iranians from the border of Iran to Islamabad and back again when the session was over.
But on the way back to Tehran, an Israeli security threat emerged.
From there, Iranian security forces reportedly notified Ghalibaf's plane of intelligence indicating that Israel planned to attack the aircraft - and the delegation took the warning seriously enough to divert from the original flight path and make an emergency landing in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.
Ghalibaf and his entourage then opted to return to Tehran by land, the report says. The following sounds straight out of a Hollywood script:
Iran’s security forces notified the plane carrying Mr. Ghalibaf back to Tehran that they had picked up intelligence that Israel planned to attack the plane and that two Israeli fighter jets had entered Iran’s airspace from its western border near Iraq, the two officials said.
"Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser for Mr. Ghalibaf, who accompanied him to Islamabad, confirmed this account on his social media page," the NYT notes. "The plane made an emergency landing in the city of Mashhad, Iran’s closest airport to the Pakistani border, and the Iranian delegation traveled some eight hours by land back to Tehran, Mr. Mohammadi and the two officials said."
Some commenters have expressed deep skepticism at the Thursday NYT story...
Well this sounds fake AF
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) July 2, 2026Behind the scenes the Trump administration had reportedly been asking the Israelis to "back off" in order to allow space for negotiations. Certainly, had Ghalibaf or Araghchi been attacked and killed, the situation would have spiraled into all-out war, which still remains a prospect.
Lately the Iranians have urged Washington to continue to 'muzzle' and restrain its more hawkish Israeli ally. FM Araghchi said Wednesday in reference to Trump that "POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them. Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response."
Tyler Durden Fri, 07/03/2026 - 16:00