7-day-long funeral rites for the late Supreme Leader of Iran have proceeded despite the Trump administration’s reported efforts to keep away foreign delegations, veiled threats to bomb mourners, and bombing the country during the period. This shows that Iranians and their allies have decided to carry on despite Washington’s violence.

Falling bombs and resolute procession

On July 8, when the US resumed strikes on Iran after a hiatus, tens to hundreds of thousands continued with the funeral procession for the late supreme leader Sayed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli war of choice on February 28, 2026. Despite the possibility that the US and Israel could bomb this funeral procession, as Donald Trump reported considering, Iranians, their leaders, and foreign guests continued without flinching. The US continued its extensive strikes into July 9, 2026.

Meanwhile, Iranian armed forces retaliated against US military installations in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, showing that they were not cowed by Trump’s threats. Iranians’ actions suggest that people have given up waiting for Washington to act with sobriety, choosing to live despite US madness. Talking of lack of sobriety, Madman Theory exists in the US and defines a strategy in which adherent administrations cast themselves as irrational and capable of taking extreme actions to scare adversaries. Adherents of this theory have included President Richard Nixon and Trump.

Noteworthy, the latter has initiated extreme actions such as assassinating Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, launching two wars against Iran, and threatening to end the Iranian civilization to project extreme irrationality while hoping to scare Iranians into submission. However, Trump has failed to scare Iranians into inaction, either through insincere peace overtures such as the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or sporadic bombing campaigns.

Trump was surprised by Khamenei’s popularity

Khamenei’s funeral procession has revealed to Trump the limits of US power, as he reported being surprised by Khamenei’s popularity. This revelation exposes the weakness of US intelligence and media, which previously promoted the view that the Islamic Republic was highly unpopular. Also, the funeral period has exposed the worrying extent of the Trump administration’s insecurity and desire to control other nations.

For instance, the Iranian media reported that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, pressured countries to avoid attending Khamenei’s funeral, and that this pressure made 13 countries stay away from the event. According to the Iranian reports, the US conveyed a confidential message through its embassies to warn host countries against attending the funeral in Iran, claiming that attendance would harm diplomatic relations, and make Washington withhold its developmental assistance for African countries.

If confirmed, the report shows that the Trump administration imagined itself having extensive power to prevent countries from mourning leaders that have been assassinated by Washington. Since many countries have sent representatives to Khamenei’s funeral, the Trump administration may have realized that its power is largely limited to killing. While Washington’s ability to kill people, and recklessly so, is well-documented, achieving its strategic goals or influencing how funerals of its victims proceed is turning out to be a different matter altogether.

The thought that the US could bomb the funeral procession of millions in Khamenei’s funeral crossed Trump’s mind, as he reported in his interview with Axios, which allays doubts that US leadership may have threatened countries from attending this funeral. Trump is reported to have stated that “I’ve been watching Khamenei’s funeral. In fact, we could wipe out everyone there. But then there would be no one left to negotiate with,” which displays extreme depravity that leaders in the West should be pushing back against.

Evidently, the octogenarian in the White House believes that the US administration can kill everybody, which sadly reinforces his earlier threats to end the Iranian civilization. He seems to view himself as a demigod, especially by suggesting that Iranians are alive only to negotiate with him. However, no one seems scared by Washington’s murderous potential, as Iranians and a large section of humanity have decided to move on from Washington’s fear. Millions of Iranians and people from across the world affirmed their right to mourn whoever they can, despite Trump’s murderous ideas hanging over their heads, which frustrates the US administration.

The world is moving on

A report from Channel News Asia (CNA) showed that 100 countries planned to send delegations to the commemoration and public funeral of Khamenei over a period culminating in his burial on July 9, 2026. Among dignitaries that have already attended this memorial are Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russia’s deputy chairman of the National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, and Chinese lawmaker He Wei. Meanwhile, Trump has declared that he is watching the procession and simultaneously allowing genocidal, civilization-ending thoughts to cross his mind.

Despite Trump’s threat, about 30 million Iranian’s are estimated to participate over the several days of procession, alongside representatives from over half of all countries in the world, which represents their categorical dissociation from the US and Israel’s policy of assassinating leaders of other nations. Also, foreign representatives’ presence shows defiance in the face of military threats posed by Washington and Tel Aviv, noting that both countries have bombed civilians and senior leaders under various pretexts in the past.

Foreign representatives’ attendance shows that Trump’s attempt to prevent people from rallying against Washington’s assassination using diplomatic and economic threats has been rejected. Some countries sending their delegations may have ignored US warnings that threatened political and economic consequences, which may signal failure of US power to threaten other countries.

Compounding failures

In addition to Washington’s failure to achieve its military objectives against Iran since late February 2026, the country has also lost its ability to marshal other countries to sacrifice their interests for its interests. The reality that a large number of countries have chosen to condole with Iran, a country that the US has designated as an enemy and killed its supreme leader alongside thousands of civilians, is telling. Humanity has won when countries risked potentially adverse retributions from Washington to restore the dignity of a leader who has firmly steered his country on a path of sovereignty and dignity even in the face of death.

Other countries showing solidarity with Iranians in mourning indicate that the majority in the world categorically reject the bloodlust that has been on display in the US and Israeli administration. Israel too has been left shaken by the high turnout to Khamenei’s funeral. The country started out as the West’s outpost in the Middle East but is now a strategic liability that only consumes endless military resources and has caused policies that have led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting destabilization of global energy prices.

Simon Chege Ndiritu is a political observer and research analyst from Africa. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2026/07/13/ali-khamenei%e2%80%99s-funeral-rites-in-the-face-of-trump%e2%80%99s-threats-of-barbarity/