Huge crowds have gathered in Tehran to pay their final respects to Iran’s supreme leader, who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
Iran officially began six days of public funeral ceremonies for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday morning, state television reported.
Khamenei was killed in a joint United States-Israeli air strike on his official residence in Tehran on February 28, the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran.
Thousands of mourners carrying red banners — a symbol of vengeance — filled the courtyard of Tehran’s vast Grand Mosalla religious complex as they waited for the arrival of Khamenei’s coffin, an AFP journalist witnessed.
Khamenei’s coffin will lie in state until Monday. Afterwards, his coffin will be taken to Qom, a holy city for Shiite Muslims, as well as to neighboring Iraq, before his burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.
Iran’s airspace and many streets in the cities where the coffin will be displayed will be shut for several days for security reasons during the ceremonies.
Who are attending Khamenei’s funeral?
International guests who paid respects to Khamenei included Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, whose country has emerged as the mediator between Washington and Tehran.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Russian security council, attended on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.
He Wei, vice chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, was present on behalf of China,
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, a member of the Taliban, paid his respects to Khamenei.
An Indian delegation also arrived in Tehran on Friday and paid its respects in front of Khamenei’s coffin.
Family members of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese Iran-backed Islamist militia Hezbollah killed by an Israeli attack, were also in attendance.
Iranian officials have not confirmed whether Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran’s supreme leader, will appear at any stage of the funeral ceremonies. He has not been seen publicly for months.
As Iran prepares for the funeral, a high-ranking general from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was seen publicly for the first time in months.
General Ahmad Vahidi is one of those responsible for Iran’s tough stance in its negotiations with the US. Both countries have been locked in months-long discussions to end the war.
The last time he was seen in public was February 8, nearly three weeks before the US-Israeli strikes that marked the beginning of the Iran war.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
