During the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a performer used the occasion to call for the death of US President Donald Trump. The outburst occurred before a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Tehran on Sunday, July 5, 2026, as Trump boasted in a speech that the United States had 'wiped out' Iran.
Poet's Call to Violence
Poet Mohammad Rasouli drew chants of 'Death to America!' and 'Death to Israel!' from the crowd. Referring to Trump, he asked: 'Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?' This marks the first direct call for Trump's death by a figure at the funeral, though posters and graffiti calling for the killing of the US president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been present.
Context of War and Negotiations
The funeral comes as Iran negotiates with the US over a permanent end to the war that has disrupted global energy supplies. Trump, speaking in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the United States, boasted: 'We’ve had tremendous success... You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We wiped it out, wiped out their military.'
Funeral Attendance and Significance
A far larger crowd than the previous day attended the ceremony on Sunday. Mourners dressed in black carried banners and flags honouring Khamenei and calling for Trump's death. The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before being killed aged 86 in a February 28 airstrike, could boost the country's theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. This is important as Iran leverages its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations and as concern lingers over possible Israeli attacks.
