The nearly weeklong funeral for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was meant to showcase the strength and unity of the Islamic Republic after it survived 40 days of relentless bombardment by the United States and Israel. But the public mourning unintentionally highlighted the deep rifts dividing not only Iranian society but also the regime itself.
Most images from the funeral portray vast crowds of mourners—grieving women in black chadors and men in dark clothes and military fatigues chanting their devotion to the slain ayatollah and their anger toward his killers. Above that sea of black, red flags could be seen held aloft by the throngs of people.
The red flag in Shiite Islam, often carrying the inscription “Ya la Tharat al-Hussein,” or “Oh, ye avengers of Hussein,” recalls the killing of Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad, whose 7th-century martyrdom triggered the original split between Sunnis and Shiites. Carrying the flag at Khamenei’s funeral is an unmistakable call for revenge, a rejection of the position of pragmatists who see the fragile negotiations with the U.S. as Iran’s best option. The funeral threw the contrast between the two positions—confrontation or conciliation—into high relief, giving top billing to the anti-negotiation stance.