The mourning show: the politics of Khamenei's funeral

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  The Economist.

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  And welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.

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  I'm Rosie Bloor.

• 00:19

  Today on the show, Japan's divorce laws get a rethink.

• 00:22

  And this week, as America's iconic Route 66 turns 100, we take you on a road trip.

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  First up, though, today in Tehran,

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  huge crowds of mourners gathered for the main funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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  The former supreme leader of Iran was killed in February on the first day of massive strikes by America and Israel.

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  With the ceasefire holding, at least for now,

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  the Iranian authorities have finally deemed it safe to allow this very public demonstration,

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  a religious event as devotees mark the death of their spiritual figurehead.

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  Others out on the streets raise their fists or wave flags with Donald

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  Trump's face on, some chanting slogans calling for vengeance.

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  This is also a deeply political moment.

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  The authorities are billing Hamlet's funeral as a referendum on the future of the Islamic Republic.

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  Nicholas Pelham is our Middle East correspondent.

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  They're celebrating his death and the funeral, not as a defeat, but as a vindication,

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  a final triumph over foreign enemies, something very much in keeping with the arc of Shia tradition.

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  So it's a display of strength, but at the same time, there are deep cracks in the regime's hole on the show.

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  Nick, we'll come on to what this all shows in a minute,

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