Iran prepares 'funeral of century' for late Supreme leader
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Foreign dignitaries arrive in Iran for a week of events ahead of the burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in strikes launched by the US and Israel. He will be laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday after lying in state. Iranian authorities say millions are expected to attend. It comes as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire after signing a preliminary deal to halt their conflict in June. As control over shipping through the Hormuz Strait has proven to be Iran’s key bargaining chip to end US and Israeli strikes in Iran, we have an exclusive report from the Strait itself, from the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. Also: The UN accuses the paramilitary Rapid Support Force of executions, torture and sexual violence in Sudan; an elected mayor in Japan is the first to take maternity leave; a police hunt is underway for the suspect behind a parcel bomb attack in Monaco -- now believed to be a woman disguising herself as a man; and a volunteer has stumbled across a rare copy of the US Declaration of Independence in the UK.
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Photo: The coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei displayed during a farewell ceremony for him at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran. Credit: REUTERS. Foreign media in Iran operate under guidelines set by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which regulates press activity and permissions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.2 | I'm Celia Hatton, and at 15 hours GMT on Friday, the 3rd of July, these are our main stories. |
| 0:18.2 | A week-long funeral begins for Iran's late supreme leader, Ali Hamanai. |
| 0:23.5 | The UN warns of a potential catastrophe in Sudan as paramilitary forces surround a city and prepare |
| 0:30.1 | to attack. Police hunt for the suspect behind a parcel bomb attack in Monaco, now believed to be |
| 0:36.3 | a woman disguising herself as a man. |
| 0:41.0 | Also in this podcast, why taking maternity leave as a town mayor is highly controversial in Japan. |
| 0:49.9 | There were those who said it's inappropriate for me to get pregnant and undergo childbirth while serving this limited term in office. |
| 1:02.6 | First, it's being described as the funeral of the century by Iran's state media, the long-delayed mourning rituals marking the death of the late Supreme |
| 1:12.2 | Leader Ayatollah Ali Haminae. He was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran in February |
| 1:19.1 | when powerful U.S. and Israeli strikes targeted his compound. The Ayatollah's flag-draped coffin |
| 1:26.3 | is lying at the Grand Mosala Mosque in Tehran, where there have been extended prayers. |
| 1:55.2 | Iran's president has paid his respects, along with representatives from Pakistan, Russia, China, and India, alongside Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. |
| 2:02.2 | Days of ceremonies and processions are planned in cities across Iran and Iraq, culminating in the Ayatollah's burial in his hometown of Mashat on Thursday of next week. The Iranian government is expecting |
| 2:08.1 | millions of mourners to attend, as I heard from Tirana Fatalian, from BBC Persian. |
| 2:14.1 | We'll have to see how many people will turn up, but the Islamic Republic is certainly planning for a very grand funeral procession. |
| 2:23.7 | They started slightly earlier than they had previously announced. |
| 2:28.5 | From what I've seen from the pictures, they have put tents across the country. |
| 2:33.6 | I've seen in one of the grand parks of Tehran, they've put about a thousand tents, portable loos everywhere. |
| 2:41.4 | There are announcements about Wi-Fi and commute and all these things to make a life a bit easier for people who want to attend. It is certainly a question, |
| 2:52.8 | though, how many people will attend? Because as we know, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was loved |
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