Iran is holding a week of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, its Supreme Leader, who was killed by an airstrike in February 2026. The main ceremonies take place in Tehran on July 4 and 5, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA. He will be buried on July 9 in Mashhad, a city in northeastern Iran.

Khamenei's body was put on display in Tehran on July 3, and large crowds gathered to pay their respects. The funeral will last a week, with processions and ceremonies in several cities across Iran and Iraq. About 100 countries are expected to send officials to attend, including Turkey.

Here is the schedule: Tehran hosts the main ceremonies July 4–5. A procession moves through Tehran on July 6. Another procession happens in Qom, a major holy city, on July 7. Then ceremonies will be held in two cities in Iraq — Najaf and Karbala — which are sacred to Shia Muslims. Finally, the body goes to Mashhad for burial on July 9.

The military is helping to organize and secure the funeral. The expected crowds are large, and security is a major concern.

In fact, Iran has warned the United States and Israel not to attack during the funeral week, Reuters reported on July 2. Iran's military is on high alert because of the conflict that led to Khamenei's death.

Why does this matter so much? Khamenei was not just a religious figure — he was the head of Iran's government, a position with enormous power. When he took office in 1989, he became only the second person ever to hold this job. In Iran's system, the Supreme Leader has almost total control over the military, courts, and state media. This kind of concentrated power means that who comes next is a huge question for Iran and for the Middle East.

When the first Supreme Leader died in 1989, there was no war happening, and the transition was orderly. But Khamenei died fighting, which Iran's officials are calling "martyrdom." This religious framing matters. In Islamic tradition, a leader who dies in battle is treated differently — and often more revered — than one who dies of old age. How Iran's new leaders use this idea will help shape what happens next.

The choice to bury Khamenei in Mashhad also sends a message. That city is home to one of the holiest shrines in Islam. Placing him there, near one of Shia Islam's most sacred sites, is a way of elevating his place in history — both for Iranians and for the wider Shia Muslim world.