Iran delays funeral of supreme leader due to crowd concerns

Patrick Sykes, Bloomberg News on Mar 4, 2026

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Iran postponed the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike last weekend, citing expectations of large crowds.

The three-day ceremony had been scheduled to start at 10 p.m. local time at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, a mosque in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday.

State television later said the proceedings were being delayed “due to the expected unprecedented presence of mourners,” and a new time would be announced soon.

The funeral is likely to turn into a rally for Islamic Republic supporters who oppose the U.S. and Israeli attacks that have since spiraled into a regional war. Russia and China have also condemned Khamenei’s killing.

Opponents of the regime, by contrast, met Khamenei’s death with celebrations.

The funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, drew over 10 million mourners in 1989 and eight people died in a crowd stampede.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a council of 88 clerics, is responsible for choosing the next supreme leader, but it remains unclear how it will do so during the war. Israel attacked the assembly building on Tuesday, but Iran said it wasn’t in use at the time.

Ahmad Khatami, a member of the assembly, on Wednesday said it was “close” to a final decision having settled on a list of options, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.