Throngs of mourners pour into Tehran for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei funeral

Tehran was flooded with black-clad mourners on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The massive turnout, encouraged by the theocracy as a display of strength, coincided with the Islamic Republic's negotiations with the U.S. for a permanent end to the ongoing war.

Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, alongside those of family members killed in an airstrike on February 28 at the war's outset, was carried on a truck. Helicopter footage broadcast on Iranian state television showed an immense crowd stretching for kilometers from Azadi Square, appearing larger than the 2020 procession for Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

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Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it's a very tough day. We are not here to say goodbye to him. We are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.

Along the route, mourners carried signs and banners calling for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One effigy of Trump was seen hanged. "Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it's a very tough day," said mourner Fatima Hassan. "We are not here to say goodbye to him. We are here for revenge. And we will take revenge."

Mourners reached out to touch the coffin and threw items for blessings, a common practice in Iran. Officials urged the crowd to remain calm and walk slowly to prevent dangerous pushing. The procession was part of a week-long mourning period that began Saturday and will conclude with Khamenei's burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

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This is the last time I am seeing him. Our generation lived with him for decades.