Tehran Prepares Khamenei Funeral as 15 To 20 Million Mourners Expected

Giant portraits of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hung from Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Tuesday as workers raced to prepare for his grand funeral ceremony later this week.

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The New Arab said Khamenei, killed aged 86 at his compound in the centre of the Iranian capital on 28 February, would have his public funeral begin on Saturday with his body lying in state at the colossal complex in central Tehran.

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The New Arab reported that the ceremonies are expected to draw between 15 and 20 million mourners, and it described workers applying fresh paint across the venue while state television showed workers welding metal structures as cranes lifted construction material around the complex.

The New Arab also said state television urged mourners to use public transport and issued public safety messages, with temperatures set to rise during the funeral period, while AFP journalist footage showed some lanes on major highways across the capital already closed.

In parallel, Mehr News Agency quoted Iraqi journalist and researcher Dr. Ibrahim al-Sarraj saying that any targeting of Iranian leadership cannot be separated from an attempt to destabilize the structure of the Iranian political system.

Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, secretary of the National Funeral Committee and Deputy Interior Minister for Security affairs, told a press conference that more than 30 countries had submitted formal requests to send high-ranking delegations to the ceremonies, and he said representatives from more than 90 countries had expressed readiness to attend.

PressTV said the funeral and farewell ceremonies would take place in Tehran, Qom, Mashhad and Iraq, with the body transferred to Iraq on July 8 and funeral prayers and burial ceremonies planned in Mashhad on July 9 near the shrine of Imam Reza.

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WANA News Agency reported that Pourjamshidian said more than 30 countries have requested to attend the ceremonies and religious leaders and scholars from over 90 countries expressed readiness to participate, and it described the events as taking place over the coming days in Iraq and three Iranian provinces.

WANA also stated that Tehran Province would be closed on July 4 and 5, the entire country would be closed for the main procession on July 6, Qom would be closed on July 7, and Khorasan Razavi Province would be closed on July 8.

The New Arab said a separate event for foreign heads of state is scheduled for Friday, with Ali-Akbar Pourjamshidian estimating that representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend the funeral.

Iran International said authorities are preparing an unprecedented security operation for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to prevent a repeat of deadly crowd crushes that marred the burials of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and General Ghasem Soleimani in 2020.

“Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the secretary of Iran’s National Headquarters for the Farewell and Funeral of the Martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said extensive preparations have been made for the funeral and farewell ceremonies of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei under decisions adopted by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and in coordination with the office and family of the late Leader”

Mehr News Agency

Iran International reported that Khamenei will be buried on July 9 following five days of ceremonies across Iran and Iraq, and it said the body will lie in state for three days at Tehran's Mosalla prayer complex before a funeral procession through the capital.

Iran International quoted First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref describing Khamenei's funeral as "the most important event of the 21st century," and it said the funeral would be the first major state ceremony under Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

The New Arab said it remains unknown if Khamenei's son and successor Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since his appointment, will be present, and it quoted Pourjamshidian saying, "The issue of the Supreme Leader's attendance is not within my authority or knowledge."

The New Arab also reported that following the ceremonies in Tehran, Khamenei's body will be taken to the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala before his burial on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad, his birthplace.