Poet at Khamenei Funeral Calls for Trump's Death
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- Mohammad Rasouli, a poet performing at Khamenei's funeral, asked 'Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?' while referring to Trump, drawing cheers and crowd chants of 'Death to America!' and 'Death to Israel!'
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike during the opening moments of the Iran war, with his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei now serving as Iran's new supreme leader — a succession the funeral is expected to reinforce.
- The funeral at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran is a six-day ceremony, with Khamenei's remains lying in state until Monday (July 6); authorities expect millions to attend before burial next week.
- Mourners on Sunday (July 5) — a larger crowd than the day before — carried banners honoring Khamenei and calling for Trump's killing as Trump himself spoke at a Washington rally marking the 250th anniversary of US independence on July 4, 2026.
- International delegations including Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, India's Minister of State Pabitra Margherita and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, Iraq's President Nizar Amidi, and Afghanistan's Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi attended the farewell.
- Iran is leveraging its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the US over a permanent end to the war, with talks on hold until the funeral concludes and concern lingering that Israel could attack again.
- Top Iranian officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, and Head of Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei paid their last respects at the Friday ceremony.
Why it matters: The funeral doubles as a regime-reinforcement moment that could boost Iran's theocracy and Mojtaba Khamenei's leadership, while Iran simultaneously leverages its Strait of Hormuz position in war-end negotiations with the US — talks now paused until mourning ends. International attendance from Pakistan, India, Iraq, and Afghanistan's Taliban signals Iran's regional diplomatic pull even as it negotiates from a position of military loss, with the performer's call for Trump's death personalizing hostility that complicates any diplomatic offramp.
