Week-long funeral of Iran's former supreme leader Ali Khamenei begins second day in Tehran
The funeral began on Saturday in Tehran with chants of "death to America, death to Israel," and his body is expected to be taken to Qom, Najaf and Kerbala, the great Shi'ite centers of Iran…
Assessment
The funeral process for Iran's former supreme leader, already marked by anti-American and anti-Israeli chants, is a multi-day, multi-city event that deliberately connects Iran to Shi'ite centers in Iraq. This signals an effort to reinforce religious and political unity across the Shi'ite world during a leadership transition. Observers should watch for any public statements from Iranian officials about succession and for the scale of attendance in Qom, Najaf, and Kerbala.