The passing of history: Tehran prepares to say goodbye to Khamenei
A multi-day farewell ceremony has begun in Iran for Ali Khamenei, who died during the war with the United States and Israel. Tehran is covered with funeral banners and portraits of the Ayatollah, and the authorities are preparing for a mass farewell, which is expected by millions of people from all over the country. Experts explain this format not only by politics, but also by religious tradition: funeral events will be held in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad— key cities for Shiites. At the same time, the ceremony became a way for Iran to show that after the attacks on the capital, the country remains manageable and is preparing for a new phase of indirect negotiations with the United States.
Tehran is in mourning
The capital of Iran, which was severely attacked by the United States and Israel a few months ago, is preparing to say goodbye to its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The whole of Tehran is covered in banners and posters with his portrait. Reminders of the beginning of the national farewell to the Ayatollah are posted on administrative buildings, cars, stands and park gates.
Black ribbons are also hung over the roads. They have a Shiite religious phrase written on them: "Everything is ordained by God." Next to the inscription, as a rule, there is a large portrait of Ali Khamenei in mourning decoration.
Although Khamenei died on February 28, funeral ceremonies have only just begun. The official farewell ceremony was held in Tehran on July 3 with the participation of foreign delegations. Russia was represented at the political part of the ceremony by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, China by Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress He Wei, Pakistan by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. According to Iranian media, representatives of more than 30 countries, including India, Georgia, Cuba, as well as Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, are expected to take part in the funeral events.
After the ceremony, Dmitry Medvedev also had a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Peseshkian. For Tehran, the participation of the Russian delegation was an important signal: even after the war with the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic retains the support of key partners.
At the same time, as orientalist Farhad Ibragimov noted, the multi-day farewell should not be explained only by the authorities' attempt to show the stability of the system after the war. According to him, this is a normal practice for Iran, connected both with religious tradition and with the huge number of people who want to say goodbye to Khamenei.
A public farewell for Iranians will begin on July 4 in Tehran's Mosalla and last until July 5. On July 6, a funeral procession will be held in the capital. The ceremonies will then continue in Qom, and on July 9, Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in Mashhad at the mausoleum of Imam Reza.
This place has a special significance for Iran: Imam Reza is considered the eighth imam in the Shiite tradition and the only one of the 12 imams buried in the country. The burial next to his mausoleum should emphasize Khamenei's religious status and the continuity of the current government with the Shiite tradition.
The destruction in Tehran
Mourning events are also of great importance for ordinary Iranians. Up to 10 million people from all over the country intend to say goodbye to the Ayatollah. People from different regions are actively coming to the city, and the authorities have to strengthen security measures.
IRGC soldiers are on duty at squares and major intersections. Some cars are stopped and searched. On one of these streets, soldiers, hiding from the heat in the shade — the temperature in Tehran reaches 40 degrees — peacefully smoked next to the inscription "Death to America."
There are many buildings left in the city that were damaged or completely destroyed during several waves of strikes by the United States and Israel. Among the main targets, as the Americans stated, was the Pastour area, where key authorities and the country's leadership residences, as well as facilities of the IRGC and the Ministry of Defense, are located. However, in fact, attacks were carried out on ordinary houses with civilians, and on cultural heritage sites.
The Golestan Palace, the former residence of the Qajar dynasty shahs and the only UNESCO site in Tehran, was also affected by the attacks. The building next door was hit, but the blast damaged the palace itself. The first thing that caught my eye when we arrived at his place was the already missing glazing of the marble hall, which was covered with a light cloth.
There are many foreign journalists around. They, like us, were brought here to show the scale of the destruction. Among them were employees of the complex itself, who were left to communicate with the press. As one of them named Fathullah told us, some of the exhibits were taken out of the museum in advance.
— The biggest loss is the economic damage. It takes a lot of money to repair the damage. We removed some of the details, but unfortunately it didn't save some of the ones that remained. Part of the exposition was damaged," he said.
A crowd formed at the entrance to the palace. To enter, you had to get a helmet from the one who came out. Their number is limited. The glazing on the ceiling of the marble hall is damaged. When looking up, there were fragments that could fall on his head at any moment. Nevertheless, most of the journalists dropped their protection as soon as they entered the courtroom.
— I have been working here for more than 10 years. It pains me that history itself has suffered from this blow. The most precious thing here is the throne, we managed to save it," the museum manager named Sajak told us inside.
We are talking about the marble throne of the Qajars, one of the main symbols of the Shah's power in Tehran. On this terrace, the Persian monarchs received foreign ambassadors and held state ceremonies. Now the throne is covered with wooden scaffolding to protect it from falling fragments.
The last shah of the Qajar dynasty was Ahmad Shah Qajar. His power effectively ended after the coup of 1921, one of the organizers of which was Reza Khan, an officer of the Persian Cossack Brigade, created on the Russian model and trained by Russian officers for a long time.
In 1925, Reza Khan became the new Shah of Iran and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty. He launched large-scale reforms: he strengthened the state apparatus, developed the army, education, infrastructure, carried out urbanization and Westernization of the country. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, became the last Shah of Iran and was overthrown in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini— a Shiite theologian who became the main opponent of the monarchy.
Lebanese activists met us on the alley near the Qajar Palace. One of them, Miriam, was holding a photo of her brother, Hassan Al-Askari Tohmaz. He was a member of Hezbollah and died in southern Lebanon on October 13, 2024, right on her birthday.
"I'm holding his picture to show the world that we're brave. My heart breaks when I look at my brother. My brother was a brave man," Miriam said in a trembling voice, shifting the photo from hand to hand.
Beheshti University
The next stop on our route was Shahid Beheshti University in the north of Tehran. During the war, it was hit: a research building related to scientific developments was destroyed on the campus. The journalists were brought to watch it.
Western media reported that the hull was "damaged" during the strike. It was indeed damaged, but the laboratory adjacent to it was completely destroyed.
— Of course, they said that it was a military facility, that someone had taken refuge. But there really wasn't anything here. The main purpose of the attack by the United States and Israel was to prevent Iran from developing," university spokesman Fazel Jahangiri told us, standing on the ruins of the laboratory.
Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simai Sarraf
Iranian Science Minister Hossein Simayi-Sarraf stated that since the beginning of the war, the United States and Israel have directly attacked more than 30 universities. Five professors were among the dead. Among the nuclear scientists killed by Israel were at least three specialists associated with Shahid Beheshti University, including the head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Abdolhamid Minuchehr.
Already at a meeting with the rector of the university, Seyed Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri, we learned that some of those killed were associated with the Russian scientific school: Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi received his doctorate from MIPT, and later defended his thesis at MEPhI.
"They were all killed in their homes with their families," Seyed said, adding that this would not break Iran's scientific community.
After the speech, he told Izvestia that none of them had been involved in the development of nuclear weapons. According to him, they were ordinary professors who worked in the field of nuclear energy.
In the meantime, Tehran is living in anticipation of saying goodbye. Khamenei's portraits are juxtaposed with destroyed buildings and the words "We will rise up." This is the main point of the current ceremonies for Iran: to bury the leader, show the scale of the losses and at the same time convince its citizens and external partners that the system has withstood the blow.
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