{"id":1553,"date":"2026-07-09T07:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T07:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1553"},"modified":"2026-07-09T07:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T07:08:18","slug":"a-bitterly-divided-iran-grapples-with-khameneis-legacy-as-he-is-laid-to-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1553","title":{"rendered":"A bitterly divided Iran grapples with Khamenei\u2019s legacy as he is laid to rest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CAIRO (AP) \u2014 He is the grandson of an influential Shiite cleric, born in Qom \u2014 the heart of religious studies in Iran \u2014 and raised in a traditional family that embraced the theocracy. But by his late 20s, he had stopped praying and given up on clerical rule. Now, he can barely discuss politics or religion with his siblings and father.<\/p>\n

Read more South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court upholds prison sentence for Yoon in first martial law case<\/a><\/p>\n

The tech worker, now in his mid-30s, says Iranian society is deeply divided, even among opponents of the Islamic Republic, and he blames one man \u2014 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/span>. The supreme leader who ruled Iran for over three decades will be laid to rest Thursday<\/span> after being killed at the start of the war.<\/p>\n

Processions of his coffin in Tehran and other cities brought out gigantic crowds of supporters<\/span> in a show of strength by the hard-liners at the core of the Islamic Republic, who lionized him as a defender of clerical rule who had stood up to the West and Israel.<\/p>\n

But underneath run deep veins of discontent that have grown over decades of bloody repression, international sanctions and economic mismanagement<\/span>, and have widened since authorities killed thousands of anti-government protesters<\/span> in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cA gap has opened up in homes across the country that is really remarkable,\u201d said the tech worker by phone from Tehran, where he now lives. Like others interviewed by The Associated Press to discuss Khamenei\u2019s rule, he spoke on condition of anonymity out of security fears.<\/p>\n

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The funeral has brought Iran\u2019s divide into focus<\/h2>\n

Khamenei\u2019s death, in Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, crowned his legacy in the eyes of Iran\u2019s rulers and his supporters, who consider him a martyr. Echoing the slogans of ultra-hardliners who oppose talks with the U.S., some who turned out for the funeral called for U.S. President Donald Trump to be killed in revenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to prove to the world that we will not submit to oppression and tyranny, and that we will avenge the blood of our leader,\u201d said Hossein Akbari, a 60-year-old mourner in Tehran.<\/p>\n

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Khamenei took the reins in 1989 after the death of<\/span> Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini<\/span>, the charismatic ideologue who had led the overthrow of the U.S.-allied shah a decade earlier and inspired a mass following.<\/p>\n

Under the banner of resisting the West, Khamenei defied sanctions to build up the country\u2019s nuclear program, its arsenal of missiles and its network of militant allies across the region.<\/p>\n

Within Iran, he entrenched hard-line clerical rule by largely neutralizing the reform movement. He gave the Revolutionary Guard immense military, political and economic power. As younger Iranians sought liberalization, he tried to maintain strict control over people\u2019s personal lives and dress codes<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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The 2009 protests marked a turning point<\/h2>\n

A critical turning point came in 2009 with the repression of protests<\/span> sparked by vote-rigging allegations in that year\u2019s presidential elections. Dozens were killed in the first major crushing of a large protest movement.<\/p>\n

It generated widespread hopelessness, according to an Iranian activist and former political prisoner who writes for a reformist-leaning magazine in Tehran.<\/p>\n

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