Iran: Khamenei's body arrives in Qom amid massive procession and anti-Trump protests

The remains of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's former Supreme Leader, arrived in the holy city of Qom on Monday evening, state television reported. A funeral procession is scheduled to continue to other cities on Tuesday morning as part of the farewell ceremonies.

State television broadcast footage of the coffin's arrival by helicopter in southern Tehran, showing a large crowd of mourners gathered to pay their respects. Earlier in the day, tens of thousands had filled the streets of the capital, waving Iranian flags and holding photographs of Khamenei. Aerial footage depicted a vast procession accompanying the coffin, which was placed on a truck alongside four other coffins belonging to family members.

Authorities deployed fire hoses to spray the assembled crowd with water, attempting to alleviate the effects of the high temperatures. The atmosphere was charged with emotion, marked by strong anti-Western sentiment. During the procession, as mourners passed under a bridge, stones were thrown at a billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump with a bullet hole in his head.

Many protesters burned American and British flags, while women in black held red signs reading "Kill Trump." Other participants displayed posters of Trump, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all depicted within a weapon's crosshairs. The event highlighted deep-seated anger and resentment towards the United States and its allies.