Top Iranian officials gathered on Friday to pay their final respects to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marking the commencement of a week-long series of funeral ceremonies as mourners converge on Tehran, where his body is lying in state.
Authorities anticipate that public mourning and large-scale processions will draw millions of participants before Khamenei's burial next week. He was reportedly killed at his compound four months ago, following an initial offensive by the United States and Israel in the Middle East conflict.
Images captured by AFP showed mourners carrying Khamenei's coffin at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran. The casket was draped in the national colours of the Islamic Republic, which he had led for over three decades. State television broadcast footage of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf paying their respects.
Notable figures in attendance included Ahmad Vahidi, head of the Revolutionary Guards, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, whose country has been involved in mediating between Iran and the United States to end the regional war. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the foreign minister of Afghanistan's Taliban government also paid their respects, alongside delegations from Hamas and Hezbollah. Approximately 30 countries are expected to send representatives to the funeral, with China and Iran's Caucasus neighbours also confirming their attendance.
The city has been meticulously preparing to accommodate a substantial influx of visitors for what is expected to be a significant display of national unity and devotion. Ezzat Shoai, a 61-year-old teacher, told AFP that her neighbourhood had opened their homes to welcome individuals from outside the capital. Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf had urged the Iranian populace to "write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence" and declared that "the nation's call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world."
Security measures have been heightened, with portraits and quotes of Khamenei displayed at the Grand Mosalla. Elsewhere in Tehran, a large park has been converted into a temporary camp with hundreds of Red Crescent tents. Preparations include water tankers to cool roads for participants and the erection of a symbolic model boat, a Shia emblem draped in red flags. Khamenei will lie in state for three days, accompanied by the bodies of slain relatives, including his three-year-old granddaughter. Tehran, along with the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, will observe public holidays during the ceremonies, with traffic restrictions and partial airspace closures in effect.
Following the events in Tehran, Khamenei's body will be transported to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before his burial on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. It remains unclear whether Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba, will attend the main ceremony in Tehran. Tehran has reported being quieter than usual, with many residents reportedly leaving the city due to the logistical challenges associated with the upcoming events.
