Khamenei funeral struggles to stay on script
Behrouz Turani
Iran International
The weeklong funeral ceremonies for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have been mired in chaotic planning, last-minute changes and political controversy.
Iran International
The weeklong funeral ceremonies for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have been mired in chaotic planning, last-minute changes and political controversy.
Even state-aligned media hinted at organizational problems during one of the Islamic Republic’s most significant public ceremonies in decades, while social media reflected sharp divisions over the scale and meaning of the events.
The problems began almost immediately. Although state media had repeatedly announced that ceremonies would begin on Saturday, July 4, organizers abruptly moved the start forward by one day after realizing that foreign dignitaries had already arrived in Tehran on July 3 because of confusion over invitations.
A major disruption involved the movement of the coffins.
IRGC commander Hassan Hassanzadeh, who oversaw parts of the ceremony, initially announced that designated trucks would carry them from the east toward the west of Tehran, where they would be airlifted to Qom and later transferred to Iraq.
Hours after the scheduled start, state television reported that the plan had been reversed and the coffins would instead move from west to east.
Hassanzadeh later apologized to people who had gathered in eastern Tehran, according to IRGC-linked Fars News, explaining that the change was necessary because the “very large and early presence of people” and the closure of roads made the original route impossible.
Earlier reports also cited concerns that some bridges along the route might not withstand the weight of the crowds, potentially causing a catastrophe.
Hundreds of users on X and Telegram complained that they had arrived in eastern Tehran as early as 5 a.m. on organized tours, unaware of the change.
Critics noted that such logistical issues could have been assessed before the ceremony.
Questions were also raised about official crowd estimates, with social-media users comparing images of gatherings at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla with historic mass events such as the 72,000-person Freddie Mercury concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
Some questioned official claims that “millions” had attended the funeral.
Online narratives on X and Telegram were sharply divided.
Pro-government accounts and some Western commentators amplified footage showing a “festival-like” atmosphere outside the Grand Mosalla, with electronic religious music and free drinks.
Others inside Iran expressed frustration over state-mandated disruptions to daily life, rising economic concerns and heavy security measures during a period of national uncertainty.
Reports also emerged of pressure to mobilize participation.
Tehran residents described receiving orders from trade and real-estate unions requiring businesses including gyms, offices and parts of the Grand Bazaar to remain closed.
Basij members reportedly warned some shopkeepers that failing to comply could result in their stores being sealed.
In provinces such as Hamedan, charitable organizations were allegedly pressured to contribute funds, while restaurants in industrial towns near Tehran were reportedly ordered to prepare thousands of free meals for mourners or face closure.
Despite these pressures, videos circulated online appearing to show government officials—including Tehran’s mayor—being served expensive meals from well-known restaurants, while many participants received simple lunches such as egg sandwiches.
Media outlets also noted that the 12-hour procession through Tehran to Mehrabad Airport—and the subsequent transfer of the body to Qom, Najaf, Karbala and finally Mashhad for burial—created immense logistical challenges.
Analysts have compared the extreme caution surrounding Khamenei’s burial to memories of Ayatollah Khomeini’s chaotic 1989 funeral, when crowds overwhelmed security, tore the burial shroud and forced officials to remove the body by helicopter.
But for many observers, the most striking aspect of the ceremonies has been the political messaging.
Aggressive slogans, posters targeting US officials and widespread displays of red flags symbolizing revenge have dominated parts of the funeral.
Critics said the tone appeared at odds with Tehran’s diplomatic calendar, with Iranian officials expected to meet US counterparts next week for talks aimed at reaching a broader agreement and easing Iran’s economic crisis.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei plans to remove judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje'i at the end of his first five-year term and appoint a new figure to lead the judiciary, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
Sources inside Iran told Iran International that Khamenei does not intend to extend Eje'i’s term for another five years, breaking with a practice followed for nearly four decades in which judiciary chiefs have usually served two consecutive five-year terms.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision is not aimed at judicial reform but is part of a broader reshaping of power after the recent war.
They said the new supreme leader is seeking to replace key officials in major state institutions with figures more closely aligned with him.
Eje'i’s expected removal could mark one of the first major signs of Khamenei’s effort to rebuild control over the Islamic Republic’s judicial, security and political apparatus after the transfer of power.
Hardliners step up pressure on Eje'i
The decision comes amid growing criticism of Eje'i from hardline figures after the names of Supreme National Security Council members who voted in favor of a memorandum of understanding with the United States were disclosed.
Critics say Eje'i’s vote was at odds with Khamenei’s stated position, after the leader said in a letter that he had, in principle, held a different view on the memorandum of understanding.
Signs of dissatisfaction with Eje'i’s five-year record have also appeared in recent official and semi-official commentary close to the power structure.
In a message marking Judiciary Week, Khamenei did not clearly endorse Eje'i’s continuation in office. Instead, he addressed the judiciary as an institution and called for the “actualization” of demands previously made by former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The message repeated calls for the implementation of the judicial transformation document, fighting corruption inside the judiciary, reviving public rights, blocking the use of recommendations and lobbying, and improving communication with the public.
Eje'i seeks to defend his record
A day later, Eje'i published a letter to Khamenei in deferential language, defending the judiciary’s performance and pledging to continue the path of “judicial transformation.”
“I and all components of the judiciary consider ourselves obliged to carry out Your Excellency’s binding commands precisely, swiftly and without any reduction,” Eje'i wrote.
Media outlets and figures close to the establishment criticized Eje'i for not publishing such a letter before Khamenei’s message. Some also described the new leader’s renewed emphasis on his father’s demands as a negative assessment of Eje'i’s record, arguing that their repetition showed the judiciary had failed to deliver practical results under him.
Rival factions inside the establishment have also stepped up attacks on Eje'i, accusing him of distancing himself from the leadership’s demands.
Media close to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian have described the attacks as part of an effort by the faction aligned with Saeed Jalili, a member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and the Paydari Front to create divisions among senior officials and weaken the postwar political path.
Media close to the judiciary and Eje'i’s supporters have sought to portray his five-year record as successful, citing reduced imprisonment, electronic court proceedings, shorter trials, anti-corruption efforts and public outreach.
Rights groups point to record of repression
Human rights groups and activists say Eje'i is not a reformist figure but a long-standing part of the Islamic Republic’s repressive judicial and security apparatus.
They point to his record in the Special Clerical Court, the Ministry of Intelligence, and later as first deputy and head of the judiciary, saying his tenure has been marked by continued heavy sentences against protesters, political activists, journalists, prisoners of conscience and minorities.
Rights advocates say the judiciary under Eje'i has continued to act as the legal and executive arm of security institutions in political and security cases.
They also argue that replacing Eje'i alone would not bring meaningful change without structural reform, an end to security interference in judicial cases, guaranteed access to lawyers, a halt to forced confessions, the annulment of political verdicts and respect for fair trial standards.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.