Iran Begins Week-Long Funeral Rites For Slain Supreme Leader Khamenei

Iran has commenced a historic week of mass funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike that triggered the Middle East war.

The body of the 86-year-old leader, who ruled Iran for 37 years, now lies in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla alongside the coffins of his relatives killed in the same February 28 strike, including a 14-month-old granddaughter.

Officials expect the ceremonies to draw between 15 and 20 million mourners, making it the largest state funeral in Iran’s history.

Hotels, schools and sports halls have been prepared to accommodate attendees, with bus and rail networks diverted for the events.

Khamenei’s casket, draped in a red flag with “Ya Hussein” calligraphy, was carried into the prayer hall as black-clad mourners beat their heads in lament.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called for a massive turnout, stating, “The nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world”.

The funeral was delayed due to wartime risks but now proceeds under a fragile ceasefire after Iran and the U.S. signed a preliminary truce in June.

Iran has warned the U.S. and Israel against any attack during the ceremonies, threatening a “harsh response”.

Delegations from nearly 100 countries are expected, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chinese and Russian representatives, and Afghan Taliban officials.

Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, head of the Revolutionary Guards, made his first public appearance since the war began to pay respects.

Khamenei was succeeded by his son Mojtaba, who reportedly was wounded in the same strike and has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader.

After ceremonies in Tehran, the body will travel to Qom, then to Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, before burial on July 9 in Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza.