Massive crowds filled the streets of Tehran on Saturday as Iran began a five-day mourning period for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died earlier this week at age 85. The funeral processions mark the end of a 35-year tenure that shaped the Islamic Republic’s domestic politics and foreign policy since 1989.
Khamenei’s body is lying in state at the Grand Mosalla, a vast prayer complex in northern Tehran, where officials say hundreds of thousands of mourners have gathered. State television broadcast live footage showing dense throngs of people — many dressed in black, some carrying portraits of the late leader — stretching for kilometers along major thoroughfares. The lying-in-state period continues through Monday before the casket travels to the holy city of Qom and then across the border to Iraq for ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala, key Shiite pilgrimage sites. A final burial is expected in Tehran later in the week.
Khamenei succeeded the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. During his tenure, he consolidated authority over the military, judiciary, state media, and the Guardian Council, which vets candidates for elected office. His rule spanned the Iran-Iraq War’s aftermath, the development of Iran’s nuclear program, the imposition of sweeping international sanctions, and the expansion of regional influence through allied militias in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Domestically, his era saw periodic unrest — including the 2009 Green Movement protests, the 2019 fuel-price demonstrations, and the 2022–23 Mahsa Amini protests — each met with forceful crackdowns. The succession process now underway is governed by the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body elected to eight-year terms. That body will select the next supreme leader, a decision that will determine the system’s ideological direction for decades.
The transition carries significant geopolitical weight. Iran remains a pivotal actor in Middle East conflicts, a nuclear threshold state, and a major oil producer. The next supreme leader’s stance on negotiations with the West, management of the nuclear file, and support for regional proxies will affect global energy markets, diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, and the security calculations of neighbors from Israel to Saudi Arabia.
For ordinary Iranians, the succession may influence daily life through economic policy, social restrictions, and the pace of potential reforms. Inflation has hovered above 40% in recent years, and the rial has lost most of its value against the dollar. Many citizens are watching whether the new leadership will pursue engagement to ease sanctions or maintain a confrontational posture.
The Assembly of Experts is expected to convene within days. While the deliberations are secret, analysts note that the body’s current composition — shaped by Guardian Council vetting — favors hardline candidates. Among names frequently mentioned are Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s second son, and senior clerics such as Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami. The outcome will signal whether the system prioritizes continuity, generational shift, or internal balance among competing factions. Meanwhile, the multi-city funeral itinerary serves both as a display of regime solidarity and a logistical test for the security apparatus during a vulnerable moment.
Image: Photo: Fatih Tekin · Pexels
Based on reporting from BBC News.
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