DON GONYEA, HOST:
Huge crowds gathered in Tehran for one of a series of ceremonies planned for the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
GONYEA: That is the sound of the crowd chanting, death to America. It's from Iranian state media. The Supreme leader, who was 86, and four of his family members were killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in February. The funeral comes during a fragile ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi joins us now from Istanbul with more. Hello.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Hello.
GONYEA: Paint a picture for us, if you would. What has today looked like and sounded like?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, from Iranian state media, we saw massive crowds at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, which is a large prayer complex. People were viewing the casket of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was draped with the Iranian flag, as were the caskets of his four family members who were killed. Men and women wore black. They wept. Recitations from the Quran and mournful prayers echoed throughout the massive space. Men beat their chests in unison, which is a tradition in Shia funerals.
As we just heard, there were also chants of, death to America, death to Israel. Some people carried signs that said, kill Trump, and people waved red flags symbolizing revenge. Across the city, people were banned from going to work, and the roads were closed, and videos online showed these packed metro platforms with people on their way to view the caskets.
GONYEA: Khamenei - he was killed back in February. So why is the funeral just now happening?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, a spokesperson for the funeral preparation said it was delayed this long because of, quote, "the war conditions" and what he called the brutal U.S. invasion. But really, this week, the funeral is about Iran trying to show stability and power to Iranians and the world. They're trying to send a message that the Islamic revolutionary power that leads the country is still popular.
GONYEA: So who came to pay their respects?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, on the international side, Pakistan and Qatar, which have been mediators in the ceasefire talks, sent officials. The Afghan foreign minister and the president of Iraq were also there. Russia sent former president Dimitry Medvedev. Russia, of course, has been a recipient of Iranian drones and has supported Iran in this war. A delegation from Hamas was also there, and there were officials from Iranian proxy groups.
Interestingly, Saudi Arabia sent a delegation, albeit of low-ranking officials. Saudi Arabia has been at odds with Iran for decades, and in March, Iran attacked a U.S. base on Saudi soil, injuring U.S. troops. So this could signal that the two countries are now willing to work together towards a shared goal to end the war now that there's a ceasefire.
Now, in Iran, we're still waiting to see if the current leader, Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei, will make an appearance. His wife was actually among those killed. But the Iranian president, foreign minister and speaker of Parliament, who has been leading the Iranian negotiating team for the ceasefire talks, arrived, and they were seen praying near the caskets.
GONYEA: So Khamenei's funeral is supposed to last nearly a week. What can we expect in the coming days?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, on Monday, a funeral procession will take the body to the city of Qom, then into Iraq on Wednesday, to Shia religious sites in the city of Najaf and Karbala. And then finally, he'll be transported back to Iran, where he'll be buried on Thursday in his birthplace of Mashhad, and Iranian officials are saying that they expect millions of people to attend.
GONYEA: The ayatollah's funeral comes during a fragile on-again, off-again ceasefire between the U.S., Israel and Iran. Where do things stand now?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, the U.S. and Iranian negotiators met this week with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan. They each met separately. Qatar's foreign minister said that the next meeting will be held after Khamenei's funeral. The Strait of Hormuz, of course, continues to be a flash point in the talks, and the pivotal waterway remains Iran's strongest bargaining chip. Other sticking points include the issues of Iran's nuclear program and sanctions relief.
GONYEA: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul, thank you.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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