Poet Calls for Trump's Death at Khamenei Funeral
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Mohammad Rasouli, a poet performing at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral in Tehran, called for President Trump's death before a crowd of hundreds of thousands on Sunday, July 5, 2026
- Rasouli asked the crowd why Trump — whom he called 'the most b*d man in the world' — 'is still alive,' drawing cheers from the audience
- The crowd responded to Rasouli's remarks with chants of 'Death to America!' and 'Death to Israel!' during the funeral performance
- Khamenei's funeral is on its second day of marathon ceremonies, with prayers set to be said over the casket of the 'slain' supreme leader
Why it matters: A public call for a sitting U.S. president's death — with synchronized 'Death to America' chanting — at a massive state funeral in Tehran shows how deeply anti-U.S. rhetoric is embedded in official Iranian mourning rituals. With Khamenei described as 'slain' and a new supreme leader's whereabouts still publicly unclear per CNN's coverage, the funeral doubles as a regime messaging moment during an unsettled leadership transition.
