Early this morning, the Iranian capital dawned transformed into a fortified camp. Today officially begins the long-delayed, multi-day state funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the age of 86 in joint US-Israeli airstrikes on the first day of the outbreak of war – February 28, 2026
On the eve of the mourning event, which is expected to bring together more than 10 million people in Tehran, Iranian state media and academic leaders have once again focused on the destruction of civilian infrastructure, showing devastated university buildings reduced to ruins by allied aviation.
Universities as a target: Systematic destruction of Iranian science
The footage shown of destroyed buildings in Tehran illustrates the scale of the air campaign of the past months, in which more than 600 educational institutions in the country have suffered serious damage. Leading Iranian academic centers were particularly hard hit.
Sharif University of Technology“ (known as the “Iranian MIT“): The attacks brought down the Information and Communication Technologies building. According to the rector, Masoud Tajrishi, the strikes targeted their artificial intelligence (AI) center and its critical databases. The outside world criticized the strikes, calling them a “deindustrialization“ of Iran's technological capabilities. Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST): A total of six of its buildings – including the faculties of physics and mathematics – were badly damaged in coalition midnight attacks. The Western position: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim that the strikes were directed solely at Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) infrastructure located nearby or disguised as scientific facilities for research and development of advanced weapons and ballistic missiles.Mourning under the gun
By this time, Khamenei's coffin, draped with the Iranian tricolor and the sacred flag from the Imam Hussein shrine, is already on display in Tehran's Grand Mosque “Mosalla“. Delegations from over 100 countries are expected to arrive in the city, including senior representatives from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and India.
The authorities have imposed strict restrictions and closed the airspace over major cities in the country. The commander-in-chief of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command, Ali Abdullahi, issued a direct warning:
„We warn Iran's enemies, especially the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculations. Any threat or aggression during the mourning days will be met with immediate and severe retaliation by our armed forces“.
The threat comes at a time of heightened tension, after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced earlier this week that Iran's new supreme leader – Mojtaba Khamenei (son of the slain leader) – was also – marked for elimination“.
Diplomacy on the Brink in Doha
Despite the threats, the US and Iran are holding technical talks in Qatar to finalize a peace agreement based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June. The talks are making "positive progress" but are currently on hold due to the funeral.
A key sticking point remains control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened that any oil tanker that does not pass through Tehran's approved routes will face a “violent response“. In response, Britain, France and Oman issued a joint declaration that the strait is vital to the global economy and are ready to deploy a broader international military mission to ensure freedom of navigation.
Processions in memory of Ali Khamenei will continue in the coming days, passing through the holy city of Qom and Karbala (Iraq), before his body is officially buried on July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad. The region remains on high alert amid fears that even the smallest incident could derail the temporary ceasefire.
Sources: Al Jazeera, AP, The Independent, Reuters, The Hindu, CNN