RSS Feeds

Tens of thousands of mourners packed Tehran on Sunday amid a six-day funeral ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Khamenei, 86, was killed in the United States and Israeli airstrikes that marked the start of the war with Iran on Feb. 28. In the ensuing months, the fighting claimed the lives of over 50 senior-ranking political and military officials, reshaping the established leadership of Iran.

That the strength of its leadership has irrevocably suffered is the exact notion Iran hopes to dispel with its high-visibility ceremonies this week. Experts say that the historic gatherings are meant to demonstrate unity throughout the country, despite the war’s massive economic and political setbacks. 

“The funeral of Ayatollah Khamenei is far more than a religious ceremony,” Negar Mortazavi, senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, tells TIME. “The message is that while the leader is gone, the Islamic Republic’s institutions remain intact and the state endures.”

Iranian officials have vocalized similar sentiments. Qom Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi told state media on July 3 that the funeral is meant to be “another referendum for the Islamic Republic.”

Iranian media said that up to 20 million people are expected to attend the funeral proceedings in Tehran.

So far, that has included a suite of foreign dignitaries, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been a key mediator in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, as well as Pakistan’s Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi. Leaders from Cuba, Iraq, Oman, Serbia, and Qatar were also in attendance over the weekend, while delegations were sent from Afghanistan, China, India, Namibia, and Turkmenistan.

Most of the Iran’s remaining leadership were present, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Head of the Judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. There was also an appearance by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who before last week had not been seen since the war began.

Footage from Iranian state media also showed three of Khamenei's sons—Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud—crying as the coffins of their father and other family members were carried out into Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Sunday. Yet, one of Khamenei’s sons has been notably absent from this show of state power: his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Read More: Iran Prepares for Week of Funeral Processions for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The missing successor

The new Supreme Leader has not been seen or heard publicly since his ascension, despite appearing on posters across Tehran. Iranian media reported that he did not attend his wife’s funeral last week. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in March that Mojtaba had been “wounded and likely disfigured” by the attack that killed his father, mother, and wife. Reuters reported in April that the leader was recovering from severe facial and leg injuries—saying that he had potentially even lost a leg in the strikes. 

Those injuries could be one reason that the Supreme Leader is refraining from making an appearance, Mortazavi explains: “Avoiding a public appearance also prevents projecting an image of vulnerability at a moment when the state is trying to project resilience, unity, and strength.”

Security concerns are another.

The New York Times reported on July 4 that officials were concerned that an appearance might invite an assassination attempt on Mojtaba.

“Following the assassination of his father at the beginning of the war, the new Supreme Leader would be among the highest-value targets for Israel, making public appearances risky,” Mortazavi says. 

President Donald Trump alluded to the potential vulnerability of a consolidated show of power in his remarks to Axios on Saturday, saying, “They are all there. One shot and we can take them all out.”

“But we are not going to do that,” he added.

In the meantime, Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence is conspicuous—not only due to the somber significance of this week’s events, but also in light of the fragile ceasefire that reopened the Strait of Hormuz for at least 60 days while the U.S. and Iran seek to resolve outstanding concerns.

Although Mortazavi says that the funeral is an opportunity to “reassure both domestic and regional audiences that the transition is under control,” it’s clear that the ongoing peace talks have influenced the tone of the ceremonies.

Reporters from The New York Times said they heard chants of “Revenge, revenge,” and “No compromise, no surrender, only revenge,” from the crowd after poet Mohammad Rasouli called for the deaths of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his eulogy speech. 

“It is a disgrace for us if we do not kill your killer,” Rasouli said, addressing the body of Khamenei.

With Iran's Supreme Leader remaining out of public view, the funeral's messaging has increasingly emphasized the conflict with Israel and the U.S.—and retribution for it—as much as the transition of power itself.

Read More: From Overnight Airstrikes to Peace Talks: A Timeline of the U.S.-Iran War

The historic playbook

Khamenei rose to power amid a ceremonial undertaking not dissimilar to this week’s events. The elaborate funeral of his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, was also orchestrated to demonstrate leadership continuity in 1989.

When Khomeini died of natural causes just under 10 years after founding the Islamic Republic, Iran wound up in Guinness World Records for the “largest percentage of population to attend a funeral.” An estimated 10.2 million people attended his funeral, which was equivalent to one-sixth of the country’s population at the time.

Iranian Students’ News Agency called the event “a profound collective grief.”

The well-attended event devolved into chaos when mourners rushed the casket, the Associated Press reported, causing the deceased religious leader’s body to tumble out into the crowd. The crowd crush killed eight people, and hundreds were injured.

Mortazavi calls this week’s funeral the “biggest political ritual” that Iran has seen since then.

While attendance over the coming days may ultimately surpass the record-setting attendance for Khomeini’s funeral nearly four decades ago, the nation is divided when it comes to supporting the regime. In the months leading up to the war, protests ignited in all 31 of Iran’s provinces over economic hardship and human rights concerns. The subsequent crackdown from Iranian leadership reportedly killed as many as 30,000 people. 

Some Iranians have, however, expressed that the conflict itself might have rallied additional support for the regime, shifting blame from Iran’s leadership to Trump and the U.S. 

Trump told Axios on Saturday that he was surprised by the turnout of Iranians in support of the late Supreme Leader because he thought that they hated him.

“Maybe it's fake tears," Trump said.

On Monday, Khamenei’s funeral will continue with a 6-mile procession through central Tehran from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square, the site of the revolution that founded the Islamic Republic. 

Processions will also occur in the Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, one of the region’s Shi’ite-majority countries, before the late leader is buried in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city, on July 9.

Whether Mojtaba Khamenei ultimately appears before the ceremonies conclude could become one of the final—and most closely watched—symbols of Iran's effort to project continuity after one of the most consequential leadership transitions in the history of the Islamic Republic.

The United States caught an enormous break on Sunday.

FIFA gave USMNT striker Folarin Balogun, the team’s leading goal scorer at this World Cup, a rare reprieve for the controversial red card he received on July 1 in the team’s 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. By rule, Balogun was to sit out the next match, a Monday night showdown against Belgium in Seattle in the Round of 16. 

But on Sunday, FIFA announced it has essentially suspended that suspension, invoking Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which says FIFA’s “judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” 

So Balogun is good to go—a huge boost for the U.S. attack. 

“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement. “Our full attention is on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.” 

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post.

“HOME COOKING IS THE BEST,” Men In Blazers, the popular U.S. soccer podcasting network, wrote in a cheeky Instagram post.

The thing is, Belgium really shouldn’t have a beef here. What Balogun did on the field against Bosnia did not at all scream “eject this guy from this game and make him sit the next.” Red cards, as opposed to yellow cards, are given for the worst on-field behaviors, including spitting, biting, receiving a second yellow card in the same match (Balogun did not have a prior yellow against Bosnia), denying an opposing player an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a handball offense, violent conduct, and what’s known in the laws of the game as “serious foul play,” which is defined as “a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality” or lunging at an opponent “in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent.”

Balogun was red-carded, after a video review, for stepping on the ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic while going for a ball. Officials felt the replay showed Balogun was “dangerous in his play,” which makes sense when you look at these sort of high-speed contact plays, frame by frame, in super slow motion. Anything can look bad. But Balogun clearly did not have serious foul play on his mind.

Yellow cards, as opposed to red cards, are issued for, among other things, players who commit any offense “which interferes with or stops a promising attack.” 

Maybe stepping on Muharemovic’s ankle rose to a yellow. Maybe not. 

Soccer laws leave room for interpretation. 

Still, the red made little sense. But FIFA realized it got it wrong and corrected the error. Balogun is under a year-long probationary period: If he commits another similar infraction, the suspension is back and he may receive even further harsh penalties. Article 27 does have precedent. It was used to defer the final two games of Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-match ban following a World Cup-qualifier red card, to make him fully eligible at the start of the World Cup. Nicolás Otamendi, of Argentina, and Ecuadoran midfielder Moisés Caicedo had one-game bans deferred for red cards in qualifiers, which also permitted them to play in World Cup opening matches. 

Now Balogun, the offensive juggernaut whose backstory has received its fair share of attention—he plays for the U.S. via birthright citizenship, which the Supreme Court upheld last week—is back in the lineup. That gives the Americans full force against a Belgium side that hasn’t overly impressed at this World Cup. 

It’s no exaggeration to call Monday night’s game the most important in U.S. men’s soccer history. Bowing out in the Round of 16, like the American men have done in their past three World Cup appearances, feels like a disappointment given the U.S. has been so dominant in its home World Cup wins, outscoring opponents 8-1. Balogun’s absence gave them a “what-if” in the event of a loss. But that asterisk is no more. 

Sleep well in Seattle, Team USA. It’s all on the line Monday night.