Iran opens Khamenei funeral with calls for 'death to America'

[dalton99a]

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-901377

Iran opens Khamenei funeral with calls for 'death to America'
By REUTERS
JULY 4, 2026

The funeral for the former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on Saturday in Tehran with chants of "death to America, death to Israel," while the ceremonies are expected to last at least a week with events across the country.

The current Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was one of the main absences in the funeral, while he hasn't been seen in the public eye since he was wounded in the airstrike that killed his father on the first day of the war between Israel, the US, and Iran.

Television footage showed Khamenei's coffin draped with the Iranian flag and topped with his black turban. It was placed, along with four other coffins of his slain family members, on a large black platform that resembled the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure at the center of Islam's holiest site in Mecca.

"'Death to America' chants echoed through Tehran's Mosalla on the day of the farewell to 'Mr. Martyr'," state broadcaster Seda va Sima said.

In video posts on other state media news sites, mourners were also heard chanting: "Our slogan is one word: Revenge, revenge," and "We will kill, we will kill he who killed our Imam."

...



Dignitaries and officials pay their respects before the coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)


The casket of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, is displayed alongside the caskets of Khamenei and other members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)


Revolutionary Guard members and clerics mourn on the esplanade of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque as preparations are underway ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

[JustAnotherGen]

1. That was to be expected

I'm not going to get upset about it. It's been happening since I was in grade school.

[aeromanKC]

2. Can't blame them.

But, I'd be okay with Hammurabi's code and then lets call it a day and move on.

[Doodley]

3. The chant seems to be identical to Trump's intent.

[dalton99a]

5. +1

[displacedvermoter]

7. Birds of a feather, squawk together...

[gab13by13]

4. Krasnov will respond that a peace deal is imminent

and crude oil will drop another 3%.

Can't have high gas prices on the 4th of July.

Ukraine has taken out 20% of Russia's oil capacity but I have yet to see that factored into the price of crude.

[Prairie Gates]

6. One thing we've learned in all this is that "Death to America" is a propagandastic mistranslation

The phrase apparently means something closer to "To Hell with America," making it not unlike, say, "Let's go Brandon" of recent US political discourse. It has been translated as "Death to America" mostly for propaganda purposes for decades now.

Maybe it's time we all grow up a little.

[Tim S]

9. Thank you for pointing that out! I'm sick of the MSM trying to generate outrage.

Anything for $$$

[Ponietz]

29. Turn off, tune out, drop in

Leary had it backwards.

[leftstreet]

10. +1

A more realistic translation would be "fuck America"

But whatever...

[EX500rider]

11. Is it though?

Iran official entities in Iran routinely chant "Death to America".
The Persian phrase shouted is Marg bar Âmrikâ.
The literal translation of the words is
Marg: "Death"
bar: "upon" or "to"
Âmrikâ: "America"

[Prairie Gates]

12. It's so crazy that MAGAs command people to fornicate with Joe Biden

The English phrase is Fuck Joe Biden
The literal translation of the words is
Fuck: "To fornicate" (seemingly in the imperative mood)
Joe: a nickname for "Joseph"
Biden: a surname, "Biden"

Of course, only a complete idiot would take the phrase literally, because we know that usage and literal translation are usually quite different. I don't think one would have to be a complete idiot to insist on a literal translation, of course. One may have other reasons for doing so.

[LeftInTX]

14. But it does mean death, it doesn't mean "fuck".

Although, yeah, they haven't sent bombs overseas.

The chants make Americans very reluctant to visit.
I wouldn't visit there.

I wouldn't want to be thrown in jail without rights.

There's a difference between "f___ Trump" and "d_____ to Trump"....
The second will get you a visit from the SS and FBI.

[Prairie Gates]

16. And the "fuck" in Joe Biden can literally mean to fornicate

So what? We know that's not what it means in usage.

I'm not disputing that the word can literally be translated as death (surely you wouldn't dispute that fuck could literally be translated as fornicate); I'm disputing that the literal translation we've been given reflects usage.

[lapucelle]

28. So the phrase "death to America" painted on the sides of ballistic missiles

is a figurative use of the phrase rather than a literal use?

Iran launches ballistic missile bearing 'Death to America' message

https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/01/iran-revolutionary-guard-launches-missiles-syria-over-parade-attack-n915256

Sorry, but folks are probably reluctant to give an "Oh, they really didn't mean it. It's just a figure of speech" pass to a terrorist government wishing them death.

[EX500rider]

23. Fuck has many meanings, if I say "Fuck, I hurt my foot!" I do not mean fornicate

If pissed at someone and yell "fuck You!", again, not fornicate.

Death has a lot less meanings.
One could make up other reasons for the Iranian's chant with zero proof and may have reasons for doing so I suppose.

[LeftInTX]

13. "Marg" is definitely death. "Mah" is the Armenian word.

Both are related to Latin languages.
Mortem, macabre, murder etc.

[AloeVera]

20. They tried "Death to American policies, imperialism and arrogance"

Then some rabble-rousers shortened it.

[Melon]

8. This is the start of every day in the military for the last 30 years. Iran is an enemy of the US.

[LeftInTX]

15. The last 45 years.

[LeftInTX]

17. I don't understand the 6 month wait? I guess it will be a mausoleum thing?

I'm sure they were "buried" immediately. And by buried, I guess they were placed in a special coffin and not in the ground?

[Boo1]

19. I think they

Were waiting until til they could reasonably expect to father without getting bombed.

[AloeVera]

18. Should I get more upset about a grief-fuelled rhetorical phrase...

...or about that little girl in that tiny coffin?

What a dilemma.

The performative fear of unlikely nay impossible future harm juxtaposed with the murder of a real child or even 20,000 real children - geez, where have I seen this before?

[lapucelle]

24. It's not a "grief fueled rhetorical phrase". It's a slogan used by the ruling elite

whose hardline tactics against both dissent and the west align with the slogan's literal meaning.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, but at least it's not as graphically violent as the slogan used by extremist Iran's extremist proxies, the Houthis:

"God is great, Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam."

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AP FACT CHECK: ‘Death to America’ chants live on in Iran
14 June 2019

TRUMP, speaking about Iranians “screaming death to America” when Barack Obama was U.S. president: “They haven’t screamed ‘death to America’ lately.” — Fox News interview Friday.

THE FACTS: Not true. The death-to-America chant is heard routinely.

The chant, “marg bar Amreeka” in Farsi, dates back even before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Once used by communists, it was popularized by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolution’s figurehead and Iran’s first supreme leader after the U.S. Embassy takeover by militants..

It remains a staple of hard-line demonstrations, meetings with current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, official ceremonies, parliamentary sessions and main Friday prayer services in Tehran and across the country.

---------------------------------------------------

Fun fact:

The phrase is routinely painted onto Iranian ballistic missiles during military parades, directly linking the verbal threat to physical, destructive capabilities.

Iran launches ballistic missile bearing 'Death to America' message
10 January 2018

https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/01/iran-revolutionary-guard-launches-missiles-syria-over-parade-attack-n915256

[David__77]

21. That tiny coffin of a 14 month old baby girl is front and center.

[AloeVera]

22. Seems only you and I noticed it. So sad.

[lapucelle]

27. Speaking of tiny coffins ...

... and these children were deliberately strangled by the hands of masked men with big guns, but no hearts.

Who hosts a dance party on a stage containing the coffins of tiny brothers, their mother, and an old man? Not the US and not Israel.

[ananda]

25. Why bother threatening?

We're in the process of killing America ourselves.

[Ocelot II]

26. They've been saying that for decades, but we're doing it to ourselves so they can relax.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

30. U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed surprise at the massive turnout and public mourning

trump is shocked that this leader was loved by his people

Link to tweet

'I Thought People Hated Him, but I Was Surprised to See So Many People Crying' — Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed surprise at the massive turnout and public mourning during the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes. In an interview with Axios, Trump said, "I thought people hated him. But I was surprised to see so many people crying."

Trump also claimed that he could have "eliminated" everyone attending the funeral if he had wanted to, but said doing so would have left "no one to negotiate with." He further stated that the United States and Iran had agreed to temporarily suspend talks and military attacks against one another until the funeral proceedings had concluded.

Meanwhile, millions of mourners gathered in Tehran on Saturday (July 4) to pay their respects to Khamenei. Many participants described his death as a tragedy greater than losing a family guardian and expressed both deep grief and strong anger toward the United States and its allies, while vowing to seek retribution.

[maxsolomon]

31. The Ayatollah is mourned by the Iranian equivalent of Trump's base.

Fundamentalist Shiites, the poorly educated, and the poorly educated Fundamentalist Shiites.

In a nation of 93 million, that's millions.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

32. Trump said he was "shocked" by the massive turnout at the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader

trump was told by Bibi that this leader was hated and that the population would rise up. Bibi lied and trump was an idiot to not know what would happen

Link to tweet