Khamenei’s funeral shows it is ‘business as usual’ in Tehran

Tehran has long demonstrated an ability to tailor its messaging for different audiences, projecting moderation abroad while employing harsher rhetoric domestically and to its allies.

By Potkin Azarmehr, The Middle East Forum

The Iranian regime’s top priority in staging the long-delayed funeral of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was not simply to mourn its “martyred leader” but, rather, to project strength, continuity and unity—both to the Iranian public and to the outside world.

Reports vary regarding the size of the crowd. The state machinery coerced many to attend.

But regardless of the reality on the ground, much of the Western media coverage reinforced the visual narrative the regime sought to create: a nation united in mourning and a political system firmly in control.

The regime’s second objective was diplomatic. By showcasing foreign dignitaries at the funeral, Tehran hoped to demonstrate that Iran remains respected and is far from isolated.

On that front, however, the results were considerably less impressive.

The funeral attracted few senior international figures, even though invitations had been sent to more than 100 countries.

No heads of state attended from Iran’s two principal strategic partners, Russia and China.

Instead, the guest list consisted largely of lower-ranking officials from states that sent a delegation, representatives of the Taliban, senior figures of Iran’s proxy organizations, and a collection of pro-Iran activists and social media influencers.

Among Iran’s 15 neighbors that share land and maritime borders, only Pakistan, Armenia and Iraq sent their heads of state.

Despite an invitation being extended to the Vatican, which had condemned the U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran as an “unjust war,” the pope sent no representative.

Tehran has long demonstrated an ability to tailor its messaging for different audiences, projecting moderation abroad while employing harsher rhetoric domestically and to its allies.

While much of the international reporting focused on the crowd size, statements carried by Iran’s official media painted a more revealing picture.

They offered little evidence to support suggestions from President Donald Trump that there had been a “change of regime in Iran.”

Instead, they underscored the continued persistence of its longstanding ideological confrontation with Israel and the West.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, the former military adviser to the Supreme Leader and one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ most senior commanders who survived the recent 40-day war, declared, “There are two regimes in the region that cannot coexist: Iran and Israel. The one that will remain is Iran”—a statement that suggests “wiping Israel off the map” still remains the strategic objective of Tehran.

Calls for revenge were equally prominent throughout the proceedings.

Mohammad Mokhber, who served as Iran’s acting president following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, stated, “For certain, those who killed our martyred leader will not die of natural death. The people of Iran and the regime will avenge his death.”

There were more explicit threats from the maddahs—the religious lament reciters who play a central role in Shi’a mourning ceremonies.

Mohammad Rasouli, a prominent pro-regime maddah, recited verses that left little ambiguity about the message being delivered:

“Why should we not kill the man who killed my leader? / Shame on us if we don’t kill our leader’s killer / From now on, the shroud of martyrdom is our dress code / By the blood of the Leader we swear, our duty is to kill Trump.”

State media reported chants of “Death to America!” and red flags with the words, “Kill Trump.”

The rhetoric emerging from Iran’s own official platforms leaves little doubt that the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic remain unchanged.

Far from signaling the emergence of a “new regime,” the speeches and messaging surrounding Khamenei’s funeral reflected the familiar language of confrontation with Israel, promises of revenge against the United States and its regional allies, and loyalty to the revolutionary principles that have defined the Islamic Republic for more than four decades.