Throngs of mourners dressed in black flooded central Tehran on Monday to accompany the funeral procession of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, their chants punctuated by calls for the death of US President Donald Trump. The massive gathering followed a truck carrying Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin alongside those of his family members, all killed in the February 28 US-Israeli airstrike that launched the war.

The 12-hour cortege was overseen by Revolutionary Guard General Hasan Hasanzsdeh, who told state television that the coffins would travel through the capital’s streets to Mehrabad International Airport. Authorities had decorated the vehicle with ornamental grating resembling the shrine of an imam, a visual link to Shia religious heritage meant to reinforce the 86-year-old cleric’s legacy.

Trump issued a blunt ultimatum, declaring that Washington would either secure a permanent ceasefire deal or “finish the job.” The threat injected fresh volatility into the negotiations, where Iranian diplomats are seeking to lock in a halt to hostilities. The regime flatly encouraged the enormous turnout as a signal of domestic cohesion, calculated to strengthen its hand at the table.

Khamenei’s death at the conflict’s outset dismantled the Islamic Republic’s top political and religious authority, scrambling internal succession dynamics. While choreographed, the public outpouring underscores genuine uncertainty as the theocracy struggles to project continuity. A breakdown in talks would risk not only renewed airstrikes but a wider regional conflagration that could roil energy markets and compel Global South nations to recalibrate diplomatic and economic ties with both Tehran and Washington.