At the funeral of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, calls were made for the ‘death of the man who killed the Imam’. On this demand, lakhs of mourners gathered in Tehran clapped loudly. This was the first demand for the death of US President Trump during Khamenei’s funeral, where banners, posters and graffiti demanding the assassination of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were also shown. The statement came as Tehran is in talks with Washington to permanently end the recent war, which has disrupted global energy supplies.
According to news agency Reuters Speaking over the loudspeaker at the funeral, poet Mohammad Rasooli asked the crowd, without mentioning Trump by name, “Why is the worst man in the world still alive?”
On this matter”America Death!” and “Death to Israel!” Slogans were raised. Rasooli then said that “the world is no longer a good place for Trump”, prompting another round of applause from the mourners.
Crowd gathered at the funeral
Later in the ceremony, 97-year-old Shia cleric Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led funeral prayers for Ali Khamenei and his family members at Tehran’s Grand Moselle. Those present there included Iranian President Masoud Pejeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Revolutionary Guard Chief General Ahmed Vahidi, Quds Force commander Ismail Kani and Khamenei’s sons Massoud, Messam and Mustafa. However, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei did not attend the ceremony.
It is believed that he is in hiding after being injured in the airstrike that killed his father. Israel has also threatened to target him. Sunday’s funeral was much more attended than the previous day’s ceremonies, with black-clad mourners carrying Iranian flags and banners honoring Ali Khamenei and calling for the death of Trump and Netanyahu.
Trump praised American military action
The funeral coincided with Trump’s speech in Washington to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, where he praised recent US military actions.
Trump said, “We have had tremendous success. You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We destroyed it, destroyed their military.” US officials have been monitoring Iranian threats against Trump and other former and current administration officials since Trump ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, in 2020.
Although Iran has repeatedly denied a plot to assassinate Trump, it has often been shown as a target in hardline rhetoric and propaganda.
The funeral of Ali Khamenei, who led Iran for decades before being killed in an airstrike at the age of 86 on February 28 at the start of the recent war, is also expected to strengthen support for Iran’s ruler and its new supreme leader. The funeral was delayed during the conflict and talks between Iran and the US to end the war once and for all are still stalled.
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