Iran's senior officials made a rare public appearance Sunday to attend funeral prayers for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The gathering in Tehran signaled a new confidence after the Iran war, which began with airstrikes that killed Khamenei.
The new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, did not attend. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the same airstrike that killed his father.
The ceremony was attended by Khamenei's sons and top military commanders, including Revolutionary Guard head Gen. Ahmad Vahidi. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were also present.
The event turned into a platform for direct threats against U.S. President Donald Trump. Posters and graffiti called for his killing, and a poet emceeing the prayers asked the crowd, "Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?" The question drew cheers.
"I came here to shout and seek revenge," said one mourner. "They killed our imam, we should kill their leader, Trump."
The funeral postpones ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States over ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Khamenei's body will be transported to other cities, with a major procession in Tehran planned for Monday before burial in Mashhad on Thursday.