Tehran, July 6: Millions of mourners flooded the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran’s assassinated Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in one of the largest public gatherings in the country’s history.

Although authorities have not released an official attendance figure, state media reported that vast crowds lined major boulevards across the capital, with turnout believed to rival the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, which was attended by an estimated 10 million people.

After lying in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, Khamenei’s coffin began a nearly 20-kilometre procession through the capital. The coffin, covered in flower petals, was accompanied by enormous crowds chanting slogans and paying their final respects.

State media reported that mourners gathered at Imam Hussein Square in eastern Tehran, where an effigy of Donald Trump was hanged. Participants also waved Iranian and Hezbollah flags, along with red flags symbolising revenge.

Iranian authorities implemented extensive security measures to prevent a repeat of the tragic scenes witnessed during Khomeini’s funeral in 1989, when crowd surges reportedly killed more than 10 people and injured over 10,000. Massive concrete barriers were erected around the Grand Mosalla complex to separate the public from the coffin and reduce the risk of stampedes.

“If I compare this ceremony with that one, I can say they are not different at all. But the crowd this time seems even more enthusiastic,” said 58-year-old mourner Gholamreza Khanbabaei.

Tehran’s airspace remained closed throughout Monday as the country observed a day of national mourning. In the sweltering summer heat, trucks sprayed water on mourners while organisers distributed Iranian flags and portraits of the late supreme leader alongside images of his designated successor, his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

According to local media, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the funeral procession. However, despite being named as Khamenei’s successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was notably absent from the public procession.

The funeral follows the assassination of Khamenei on February 28, the opening day of the recent Middle East conflict. Iranian authorities have blamed Israeli airstrikes, reportedly conducted with U.S. intelligence support, for the attack that also killed four members of Khamenei’s family.