Key facts
- A poet named Mohammad Rasouli called for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump at the funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
- Rasouli's remarks were met with cheers and chants of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" from the crowd.
- The funeral ceremony in Tehran was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners.
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died at age 86 in an airstrike on February 28, marking the start of the Iran war.
- His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is the new supreme leader.
At the funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a poet named Mohammad Rasouli called for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump before a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Tehran. Rasouli asked why Trump, whom he called "the most bastard man in the world," was still alive, drawing cheers and chants of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" from the mourners.
The funeral ceremony, attended by a larger crowd than the previous day, honored Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before his death at age 86 in a February 28 airstrike that initiated the Iran war. The event could bolster the country's theocracy and its new supreme leader, Khamenei's son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
This development comes as Iran seeks to leverage its influence over the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. for a permanent end to the war. Talks are currently on hold until the conflict concludes, with concerns remaining about potential further Israeli actions.