Ali Khamenei’s funeral has been marred by confusion from Tehran to Najaf, after organizers abruptly shortened the procession route in the Iranian capital and conflicting accounts emerged over who would lead prayers when ceremonies move to Iraq.
The funeral convoy had been scheduled to move from Enghelab Street toward Azadi Square, but organizers changed the route without prior notice and sent it along Azadi Street instead, significantly shortening the procession.
Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Tehran, apologized to pro-establishment supporters on Tuesday, saying organizers had wanted the convoy to pass through Enghelab Street to allow more people to take part.
But he said “the large public presence and blocked roads” made the original route impossible.
The explanation came only hours after Hassanzadeh had denied any change to the route and said “all necessary arrangements” were in place.
Ali-Akbar Pourjamshidian, secretary of the funeral organizing committee, said the route was altered to protect the "security, safety and well-being" of participants.
State news agency IRNA reported that pro-establishment people had gathered since early morning near Enghelab Square expecting the procession to begin there and voiced frustration when the convoy instead departed from Azadi Street.
The change also drew criticism from figures close to the Islamic Republic. Hardline lawmaker Hamid Rasaei accused organizers of lacking honesty, while Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of Khamenei's office, said supporters "feel they have been misled at funeral."
Social media users offered a different explanation, arguing the route was shortened because turnout was lower than expected and that organizers sought to limit images of sparse crowds.
"The ceremony was so poorly attended that officials were forced to change Khamenei's funeral route so they could at least fill a few hundred meters of one street, but the emptiness of Azadi Square ruined that deception," an X user identified as Ali Reza wrote.
"The blood of those killed in the Bloody January protests did not let go of the lowly dictator, even in the depths of hell," he added.
Another X user wrote that a successful display of public support "doesn't require this much justification, apology and finger-pointing."
"But when media outlets close to the government spend hours explaining why the crowd was small, why the route changed, why people were left wandering and why supporters were unhappy, the display itself has failed," the user wrote, adding that what had been intended as the Islamic Republic's biggest show of legitimacy "became a propaganda disaster."
Questions over Najaf funeral prayers
Funeral ceremonies are due to continue in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Wednesday, but that stage of the proceedings has also been overshadowed by conflicting reports over who will lead prayers over Khamenei's body.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars News Agency reported on Monday that Mohammad Reza al-Sistani, son of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, had sent a message to the office of Iran's supreme leader saying it would have been appropriate for his father to lead the funeral prayer but that his health prevented him from doing so.
A day later, several Iranian media outlets, citing Iraqi networks, reported that the remarks attributed to Mohammad Reza al-Sistani were inaccurate.
The conflicting accounts have fueled questions about whether media close to the Iranian authorities sought to explain Grand Ayatollah Sistani's absence from the ceremony.
Sistani, 95, is regarded by many Shiites as the foremost religious authority and has led funeral prayers only once before, for his teacher.
Several Iranian media outlets said the funeral prayer in Najaf would instead be led by another cleric Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim.
Khamenei was killed on February 28, the first day of the recent war. The Assembly of Experts subsequently selected his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as Iran's third supreme leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment and was absent from funeral ceremonies held in both Tehran and Qom.
