Solmaz Iakdar, a reporter and a member of the IranWire editorial team, says the Islamic Republic, during the funeral procession of Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the narrative more than ever before, both for itself and for aligned domestic and foreign media. According to the journalist, in the absence of independent and critical media, only narratives that are approved by the government about what is happening these days at the Tehran Prayer Grounds are being broadcast to the entire world. This is because the Islamic Republic needs to hear its own accounts about the legitimacy of Ali Khamenei, reproduced through non-Persian-language media and foreign bloggers, in order to persuade its supporters to remain backing him.