E-Paper
Call for Trump's death echoes from Khamenei's funeral stage: 'Our duty to kill him’
Mohammad Rasouli, a poet speaking over loudspeakers during the ceremony, led the crowd in chants directed against the United States and Israel.
A performer addressing mourners at the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday publicly called for the death of US President Donald Trump.
The act marked the first direct call for Trump's death by an emcee at the funeral and drew loud cheers from a crowd that stretched into the hundreds of thousands, reported news agency Associated Press.
The remarks came during a massive funeral ceremony for Khamenei, who was killed at the age of 86 in a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, marking the beginning of the Iran war. The event unfolded as tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high despite ongoing efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the conflict.
‘Death to America, Israel’
Mohammad Rasouli, a poet speaking over loudspeakers during the ceremony, led the crowd in chants directed against the United States and Israel.
Rasouli drew responses of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” before turning his attention to Trump, AP report added.
Referring to the US president, he asked: “Why is the most b*****d man in the world still alive?”
The remark prompted cheers from those gathered at the funeral.
Another purported video that has gone viral on social media showed a man raising anti-Trump slogans at the funeral. He could be heard saying, “Why don't we kill the one who killed our Imam? It is our duty. If we don't kill the one who killed you, from now on, the shroud is the place to take us. It is our duty, I swear to your blood, to kill Trump.”
However, it was not immediately clear whether the man seen in the viral video was the same person who made the remarks from the funeral stage.
HT could not verify the authenticity of the video.
According to the AP report, posters, banners and graffiti demanding the killing of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have appeared in Iran, reflecting a long-standing hard-line position among some factions in the country.
Massive turnout in Tehran
Sunday’s funeral drew a significantly larger crowd than the previous day’s ceremonies, with mourners dressed in black making their way through Tehran carrying banners and flags honoring Khamenei.
Some attendees also carried signs calling for Trump's death as the funeral took place.
The gathering came as Trump was in Washington participating in events marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Speaking about the US military, Trump said: “We’ve had tremendous success. You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran. We wiped it out, wiped out their military.”
Funeral held amid negotiations
The funeral is being viewed as a key moment for Iran’s leadership following Khamenei’s death. It could help consolidate support for the country’s ruling establishment and its new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
The ceremony also comes at a sensitive time for Tehran, which is seeking leverage in negotiations with Washington over a lasting settlement to the war. Iran’s strategic position along the Strait of Hormuz remains central to those discussions.
At the same time, concerns persist within Iran over the possibility of renewed Israeli military action.
The funeral had been postponed while fighting continued, and negotiations aimed at ending the conflict remain suspended until the war concludes.
