Tehran’s streets filled with tens of thousands of black-clad mourners on Monday as a funeral procession for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became a platform for fury against Washington, with crowds repeatedly chanting “Death to Trump” even as Iranian and U.S. negotiators seek a permanent end to the war. The flag-draped coffins of Khamenei and family members, killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28, were paraded through the capital on a truck decorated to resemble the latticework around a revered shrine.

Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hasan Hasanzsdeh, who supervised the event, said the cortege would travel over 12 hours from the city centre to Mehrabad International Airport before Khamenei’s burial later this week. Authorities cast the enormous turnout as proof of the theocracy’s staying power, a message aimed at both domestic audiences and foreign capitals as delicate talks progress.

Khamenei’s death in the opening salvo of the war triggered a sharp escalation in the region. Since then, U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed Iran with an ultimatum: accept a settlement or the United States will “finish the job.” The negotiations, mediated through intermediaries, continue against the backdrop of the public outpouring, which mixed grief with ideological defiance.

For the Global South, the conflict and its uncertain resolution carry acute risks. Disruptions to Gulf energy transit threaten fuel-importing nations, while a prolonged crisis deepens humanitarian strains and accelerates geopolitical fragmentation. The spectacle in Tehran thus echoed far beyond the procession route, underscoring the war’s capacity to reshape alignments from the Middle East to the broader developing world.