State television have reported that funeral rites for Ali Khamenei officially began on Saturday, drawing thousands of mourners in what authorities intended as a demonstration of strength to the Islamic Republic of Iran‘s adversaries.
Iranian officials predict that over the next three days, between 15 and 20 million people will attend homage to the man who led the nation for three and a half decades in Tehran alone.
Khamenei, who governed the Islamic republic as its leader from 1989 till his death on February 28 at the age of 86 on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, will be honoured with six days of burial rites.
The events will be closely monitored for any sign of Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named supreme leader a week after his father’s death but is yet to be spotted in public in weeks.
Also spotted were thousands of mourners holding up red banners — a symbol of vengeance, in the courtyard of Tehran’s vast Grand Mosalla religious complex waiting for the arrival of Khamenei’s coffin. an AFP journalist witnessed. Chants of “death to America” and “revenge, revenge” echoed at the venue.
“We came (to the funeral) because we promised the supreme leader we would stand by him to the very end,” 37-year-old university professor Reza, who gave only one name, told AFP.
“For a long time, we shouted that we would sacrifice our lives for the leader, but it was he who sacrificed himself for us.”
‘Final goodbye to Ali Khamenei’
The coffin is expected to lie in state until Monday, when a procession will pass through Tehran.
Following this, on Tuesday it will move to the clerical seat of Qom, before moving on Wednesday to places holy to Shia Muslims in neighbouring Iraq, before proceeding for burial on Thursday in Khamenei’s home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
On Friday, survivors of the conflict expressed their sorrow and put on a united front, with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the parliament and chief negotiator in the US negotiations, clearly in tears.
Meanwhile, some top Iranian officials paying their respects included Ahmad Vahidi, who was named chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor was killed in the same strikes that killed Khamenei, but had not been seen since.
Additionally, other relatives killed in the strikes will also be laid to rest, including Ali Khamenei’s infant granddaughter.
Backstory…
The 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28 after a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike targeted his residence in Tehran during the opening phase of the conflict. Several members of his family were also reported killed in the attack, while his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was said to have been injured.
Iranian authorities confirmed Ali Khamenei’s death the following day and declared an extended period of national mourning.
Read Also: Iran’s Supreme Leader , Khamenei’s is dead. State TV confirms news
‘Call for vengeance’
Following an initial agreement between Iran and the United States, the Middle East conflict has been put on hold after five weeks of fighting. Iranian officials have cautioned that Tehran is prepared to fight again if necessary.
Army chief Amir Hatami vowed Israel and the US “will pay for the blood of the martyred leader and all the nation’s martyrs”.
But authorities will also want the event to go well, acutely aware of the possibility of crowd crushes that have ruined similar events in the past. TV transmission safety guidelines.
Tankers were positioned to spray water on the roads to cool participants because temperatures in Tehran were predicted to be well above 35C during the next days.
Ahead of the ceremonies, AFP correspondents reported that Tehran was quieter than usual, with many normally busy streets free of Tehran’s notorious traffic
