The streets of Tehran are flooded with regime loyalists mourning Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the architect of Iran's hostile foreign policy who was neutralized in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike back in February.
As the regime attempts to project strength through a massive, choreographed funeral procession, attendees are reportedly using the event to chant anti-American slogans and call for vengeance. This display of defiance follows the strike that effectively dismantled a key pillar of the Iranian theocracy.
Despite the regime's rhetoric, the reality remains that the Ayatollah’s death has left the Islamic Republic in a state of transition, with his son, Mojtaba, now assuming the role of supreme leader amid questions regarding his visibility and the regime's future stability.
President Donald Trump noted that the U.S. allowed a temporary pause in hostilities for the funeral, even as the Iranian government faces the consequences of its long-standing aggression.
The body is scheduled to travel through Iran and Iraq before a final burial in Mashhad, marking the end of a leader whose tenure was defined by a permanent blood feud with the United States.
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