Huge state funeral for slain Iranian leader sends message to Trump and Iran’s enemies

Five cities, two countries, and millions of mourners: Iran is holding a weeklong funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei four months after he was killed at the outset of the US-Israeli war on Iran, CNN reports.

Despite a costly war against two of the world’s strongest militaries and decades of crushing economic hardship, Tehran is sparing no expense to send off Khamenei in a grand ceremony shrouded in religious symbolism that overlaps with the 250th US Independence Day celebrations.

For more than ten days, the overwhelming coverage across Iranian media has been building up to this moment, with tribute songs and documentaries on Khamenei’s life overtaking news of talks with the US that had previously dominated headlines. The scale of the ceremony is designed to send a message to the world and to the Islamic Republic’s enemies: The regime not only survived an existential war, but will stubbornly immortalize its slain leader as a symbol of its resilience.

As noted, the ceremony may also mark the moment when Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei makes his public debut.