By Shabbir Rizvi
The funeral of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, drew tens of millions of mourners to the streets across Iran and Iraq. The six-day farewell procession began in the Iranian capital, Tehran, continued through Qom and the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and concluded with his burial in the holy city of Mashhad.
The continuous stream of footage from the unprecedented funeral, captured not only by news outlets on the ground but also by countless mourners documenting the event, highlighted the profound respect the martyred Leader of the free people inspired among his followers.
Millions of Iranian people poured into the streets across the country, demanding revenge and justice against the murderous American-Israeli axis that bombed the Leader’s residence in central Tehran on February 28, assassinating him along with members of his family, including his 14-month-old granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.
They were joined by thousands of visitors from abroad, including official delegations from various countries, religious leaders and scholars of different faiths, journalists, and activists. Across the world, mosques and grassroots organizations held their own commemorations in solidarity as the funeral ceremonies unfolded.
The ceremonies were united by the powerful slogan “We Will Rise,” reflecting both the Islamic Republic of Iran’s message and Ayatollah Khamenei’s own ideology that despite the assault of imperialism on the Islamic Revolution and its leadership, the people would endure, prevail, and ultimately emerge victorious.
The outpouring of support and solidarity for the martyred Leader amid a fragile ceasefire repeatedly violated by the United States challenged decades of imperialist propaganda campaign against the revered Leader of the Islamic Revolution and the Axis of Resistance, a campaign manufactured in the newsrooms, think tanks, and universities of the United States.
Imperialist reactions: Denial and sabotage
“I thought they hated him.” The exact words of US President Donald Trump reacting to the outpouring of millions of Iranian attendees during the Tehran leg of Imam Khamenei’s historic funeral procession reveal the hubris of imperialist thought.
It is possible that years of propaganda aimed at discrediting the Islamic Republic’s governance convinced imperialist leaders to believe their own lies. Perhaps it was a feeble attempt to credit his own support for imperialist agents in Iran that CIA and Mossad operatives activated in January during the failed coup attempt.
What remains certain is that the Iranian people’s voice – over 40 million strong – drowned out imperialist narratives regarding the martyred Leader.
The camera feeds from foreign journalists and observers showed packed streets amid seas of black clothes and red banners of revenge. There was no room to imply manipulation of numbers or digitally edited photos. The rage of Iranians on display was real. Their sorrow was real. And their vow for justice is a true promise of its own.
Despite this, imperialist propagandists still claim that the crowd is fake or digitally altered, denying reality itself. Some media coverage within the global North omitted the crowd entirely or outright refused to cover the funeral. But the numbers were record-breaking, and the tide of the Iranian people broke through the carefully constructed imperialist narrative.
In perhaps a desperate final act to prevent the last leg of the funeral, the burial in Mashhad, from being widely attended, on the early morning of July 9th, the United States broke the ceasefire for a second consecutive night and bombed the civilian railway leading to Mashhad from Tehran.
Despite this, scenes from Mashhad showed the same sights as Tehran, Qom, Najaf, and Karbala – an endless crowd of people showing loyalty and love to their martyred leader. Imperialism was banking on the Iranian people being dissuaded by the bombings. Iranians responded by doubling down – the armed forces struck multiple US bases across the region as those stranded on the railway were picked up by security forces and volunteers and brought to Mashhad.
It is worth mentioning that during the funeral ceremonies, the United States was observing its 250th anniversary. The major event planned by Trump and his sycophants in the capital at the National Mall, however, would not be the spectacle the murderous leader had envisioned.
The questionable turnout was further reduced by severe thunderstorms that forced police agencies and the Secret Service to evacuate the already small crowd. The 250th year of the American settler project was not celebrated with a bang, but with a whimper. The fireworks concluded a day of chaos, uncertainty, and failure – an apt symbol that behind the American mask of extravagance is a deeply failing and unstable system.
Despite their best efforts, eventually imperialist media folded and was forced to cover what the rest of the freedom-loving people of the world witnessed: millions in attendance for the funeral of the martyred leader of the Revolution, Imam Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
Monarchy muted
Since the martyred leader was elected in June 1989 by the Assembly of Experts to lead the Islamic Republic of Iran, American media and politicians have waged a campaign of distortion, lies, and slander in an attempt to tarnish the name of Imam Khamenei and the Islamic Revolution that is the biggest challenge to imperialism’s machinations today.
This campaign sought not only to tarnish the name of the endeared leader of the revolution, but to prop up its own neocolonial agent – Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed tyrant “Shah” – as the so-called “true” representation of Iran’s interests.
Imperialism collaborated with a reactionary diaspora class, composed of class enemies to the anti-imperialist Islamic Revolution, traitors to their homeland – in order to reinstall a monarchy. They insisted that the son of the brutal monarch was the path to “democracy.”
For decades, the monarchist cult of Pahlavi worked hand in hand with US spy agencies such as the CIA as well as the Israeli occupation’s Mossad to conduct acts of sabotage and assassinations within Iran, while positioning itself as the sole authority on Iranian issues across the global North. Similarly, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) terror cult worked with these agencies as well, with the US and European Union even removing them from the list of designated terrorist organizations.
Because of their willingness to be subordinated to the imperialist cause, the anti-Republic diaspora’s media outlets and NGOs were boosted by imperialism – “newsrooms” such as Iran International, BBC Persian, and IranWire, just to name a few. These outlets – propaganda arms for the reactionary diaspora cause – were positioned as the “authorities” of Iranian affairs, insisting that they are the true voice of Iranians.
During the January 2026 failed coup attempt in Iran – primarily orchestrated by US and Israeli agents – monarchists, MEK cultists, and their agents sought to destabilize Iranian society. Reza Pahlavi was on mainstream media almost daily, using not only monarchist-friendly diaspora media as a way to cement his alleged authority, but the common mainstream media sources of imperialism – Fox News, CNN, BCC, etc.
Monarchist demonstrations were held in cities such as Los Angeles, Toronto, Amsterdam, and London, calling for the reinstatement of the monarchy. MEK cultists also positioned themselves as the arbiters of Iran’s future, causing infighting between the reactionary diaspora camps.
The coup failed due to the resilience of Iranian society and its security forces. Monday, January 12th, and the days that followed showed a strong rally of pro-Republic masses demonstrating across major cities – Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz – who rejected the US-Israeli-monarchist plot.
The monarchists and MEK terror cultists were defeated soundly, but rose again in an attempt to cement themselves as Iran’s representatives when the US-Israeli aggression against Iran started on February 28th, with the launch of the war. Again, the reactionary cause was rejected in Iran as millions of Iranians poured into the streets night after night, packing major squares, demanding revenge for the martyred leader and the Iranian nation against imperialist forces.
Twice rejected, the reactionary movements silently retreated as the war dragged on, with US bases and assets as well as Israeli regime sites being bombed. It was becoming clear that the US would not be able to overcome Iran’s military might.
The cessation of hostilities, at least, for a period of time on April 8th, delivered yet another blow to the CIA-Mossad-monarchist-MEK cause. To add insult to injury, Trump even admitted that they did not see Pahlavi as a suitable leader to install.
However, Iranian forces ensured that Trump and his crew of child-killing imperialists could never be given a serious chance to even consider installing a puppet. Shortly after the martyrdom of Imam Khamenei, the Assembly of Experts announced that Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei had been elected as the new Leader.
The funeral of the martyred leader delivered the final death blow to the reactionary diaspora cause. Breaking record numbers, over 44 million have been reported to be in attendance at funeral processions across five cities in Iran and Iraq.
Not only that, but calls for revenge and justice echoed in the air as Iranians grieved. The funeral serves as a statement: the Revolution and the Republic it birthed are here to stay.
An enduring legacy
The weight of someone’s contributions to society can indeed be observed at their passing.
Leading up to his burial, Iranian society poured into the streets for Imam Khamenei, with tears in their eyes and fists clenched in defiance. A renewal of allegiance is born by the blood of his martyrdom. For years, imperialists theorized that assassinating Iran’s leader would be the catalyst for the Islamic Republic’s overthrow. The miscalculation is now costing them dearly.
Today, Imam Khamenei lives on. In fact, he is more alive than ever. He is followed by millions of Iranians and other followers across the globe. His legacy and true power cannot be erased.
Those who sought to diminish his name for decades are politically dead and irrelevant. The Pahlavi cause is dead. MEK is swept into irrelevance. Imperialism persists, but is pushed back by a unified Islamic Republic of Iran and the Axis of Resistance.
As the memorandum of understanding is reduced to shreds via American violations, the ambiguous ceasefire slowly returns to a period of direct confrontation. Iran stands strong and ready for any eventuality, even full-scale war.
The slogan “We Will Rise” endures as the final command of the martyred Leader’slegacy.
Shabbir Rizvi is the editor for Vox Ummah and a journalist at Sovereign Media.
(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)
