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Millions of people are estimated to be participating in the multiday state funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran this week. After ruling the Islamic Republic of Iran for over three dozen years, Khamenei was killed by a joint Israeli-U.S. airstrike on February 28. Now viewed as a martyr by both his religious base and the wider Iranian public, Khamenei has taken on a "new identity" as "the leader of the resistance movement, the leader in the fight against U.S. imperialism," says Tehran-based journalist Reza Sayah, who has been reporting on the funeral proceedings. Sayah also discusses the absence of Khamenei's son and chosen successor Mojtaba Khamenei from the public eye, the Iranian government's position on the thousands of protesters killed by security forces in the early months of 2026 and more.
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