BBC in Tehran as mourners gather for former supreme leader’s funeral

Nawal wears a lose blue hijab and abayah as she reports from the Grand Mosalla in Tehran
July 4, 2026

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BBC in Tehran as mourners gather for former supreme leader’s funeral

BBC International correspondent Nawal Al Maghafi reports from Tehran, where authorities say they expect millions to take part in funeral commemorations for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The former supreme leader of Iran was killed more than four months ago in US and Israeli strikes at the start of the war.

Huge crowds of black-clad mourners have already gathered at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque, where his body is lying in state ahead of his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, next Thursday.

The BBC’s Senior international correspondent Nawal Al Maghafi is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC’s Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran.

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