Iran’s Foreign Ministry is hosting officials from dozens of countries and between 15 to 20 million mourners at former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ongoing six-day funeral, including representatives from India, China and Turkey.

Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation in Tehran at the outset of the war at the end of February.  The timing of his funeral months later marks an unusual delay, as Islamic law calls for burial ideally within 24 hours of death. The event began on Friday and spans five cities across Iran and Iraq, ending in the Iranian city of Mashhad, where he will be buried Thursday.

Despite his three brothers’ attendance at the funeral proceedings, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as supreme leader and is thought to be seriously injured from the same airstrike, still has not appeared publicly. Iranian officials have cited fears of Israel locating and assassinating him as the reason for his continued absence. 

IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi made his own first public appearance since the war began, sitting beside Khamenei’s casket on Thursday before the funeral began. Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, estranged from Khamenei for years, made a rare public appearance at the procession.

President Donald Trump noted on Monday that the gathering would be an opportune time to take out Iran’s remaining leadership. “They are all there,” the president told Axios. “One shot and we can take them all out, but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with.” Talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected to resume after the funeral ends later this week. 

Hezbollah emissaries from Lebanon were led by Mohammed Fneish, a senior Hezbollah official and former Lebanese Cabinet minister. Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa represented Beirut.

Hamas, meanwhile, said in a statement that its delegation was led by the head of its political bureau, Mohammed Darwish, and included other bureau members such as Bassem Naim.

Also attending Saturday’s ceremonies in Tehran were Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the leader of the Palestinian militant group and Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, and senior Houthi member Dhaif Allah al-Shami, state TV reported.

Russia sent Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the security council, as a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin. “On behalf of the leadership and people of Russia, I extend our deepest condolences over the martyrdom of Iran’s Supreme Leader,” Medvedev wrote on X.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, was one of the few sitting heads of government to attend in person. “The late supreme leader’s wisdom, leadership and profound influence on Iran and the wider region will be remembered for generations,” Sharif said, per his office. 

While political delegates from the West were unwelcome, American political activists traveled to the funeral in Tehran. Political commentator Jackson Hinkle posted extensively from inside the Grand Mosalla, writing to his 3.8 million X followers: “July 4th in Tehran, Iran. It is the duty of every American patriot to pay respect and honor the life of Seyyed Ali Khamenei.”

Speaking from the funeral, Calla Walsh, a 22-year-old who was once a rising Gen Z progressive organizer, called Khamenei the “greatest anti-imperialist leader” of her lifetime while anti-American chants rang out around her.

Many of the mourners and speakers called for revenge for Khamenei’s killing.