Iranian leaders pay respects to supreme leader as Tehran prepares for funeral

• The body of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla for a large funeral amid a fragile US-Iran ceasefire after his killing in US-Israeli strikes.
• Millions of mourners and foreign dignitaries, including representatives from Pakistan, China, and regional neighbours, are expected to attend the largest state funeral in Iran’s history.
• Funeral ceremonies will span multiple cities with public holidays and security measures; Khamenei’s body will be buried in Mashhad after visits to Iraqi holy sites.

TEHRAN – Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral.

Khamenei’s body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies that are expected to draw millions.

A coterie of foreign dignitaries is due to attend the official ceremony on July 4, with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout to avenge his death.

AFP photographs showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, emblazoned with Iran’s tricolour flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the Islamic republic’s most important ceremonial venues.

Others showed crowds clad in black at a pre-funeral ceremony as the coffin was set down against a backdrop of red flowers and white butterflies hanging in the air.

State TV broadcast footage of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian paying his respects on the afternoon of July 3, alongside Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Ahmad Vahidi, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, was seen, making his first appearance since the start of the war in February.

The city was preparing to take in huge numbers of visitors, with Ezzat Shoai, a 61-year-old teacher, saying that her neighbourhood had “prepared our houses to welcome those who come from outside the capital”.

“God willing... we will go together to say goodbye to our dear leader.”

Elsewhere in Tehran, a large park was transformed into a camp with hundreds of Red Crescent tents set up on the grounds.

Workers could be seen removing all barriers from Azadi Avenue, a major thoroughfare through which the funeral procession will pass on July 6.

Tankers were stationed to spray water on the roads to cool down participants, and a model boat – a Shi’ite symbol – draped in red flags had been erected.

Preparations for Khamenei’s public funeral, initially delayed at the height of the war, are taking place as Iran and the US observe a fragile ceasefire after signing a preliminary deal to halt the conflict.

Pakistan, a key mediator in the US-Iran talks, said its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be attending the ceremony. China, Afghanistan and Iran’s neighbours in the Caucasus region said they would be sending representatives.

‘Vengeance’

Tehran’s chief negotiator Ghalibaf called on July 2 for “all the Iranian people... to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence”.

“The nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world,” added Ghalibaf in a statement.

Khamenei, a spiritual figure for many Shi’ites, was killed at the age of 86 in strikes on his compound in the centre of the Iranian capital.

He will lie in state for three days at the Grand Mosalla, which has been draped in banners featuring his images and quotes.

The bodies of his slain relatives, including that of his three-year-old granddaughter, will also be present.

The ceremonies are expected to draw between 15 million and 20 million mourners, which would make it the biggest state funeral in the country’s history, said officials.

Ghalibaf said it would be “one of the most significant moments” in Iran’s history.

Ahead of the ceremonies, AFP correspondents reported that Tehran was quieter than usual, with many normally busy streets free of Tehran’s notorious traffic.

Multi-city commemorations

Tehran, as well as the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, which will host later stages of the funeral and burial ceremonies, will observe public holidays while the events are under way.

The authorities have ordered public and private offices in Tehran to close from July 4 to 6, while traffic restrictions will make much of the city centre inaccessible to private vehicles.

The airspace over Tehran will be partially closed from July 3 and fully closed on July 6.

Following the ceremonies in Tehran, Khamenei’s body will be taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before his burial on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, his birthplace.

It remains unknown if Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader, will be present at the main ceremony in Tehran.

Representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend the funeral, with people coming from neighbouring Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. AFP