1 of 5 | Crowds of mourners gathered around the coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during his funeral in Tehran on Friday. Photo courtesy KHAMENEI.IR | License Photo
Iran began a weeklong funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members Friday that’s expected to stretch across five sites and two countries.
Local and foreign officials filed past the coffins of the slain leader and his family at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran as crowds gathered outside the mosque. Among those in attendance were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Leaders from Iraq, Armenia, Tajikistan and other countries were also there.
The coffins were expected to lie inside the Great Hall of the mosque for three days, The Guardian reported. A formal ceremony was scheduled to take place Saturday and the burial will be Thursday in Mashhad.
Officials planned a 6-mile procession Monday from Imam Hossein Square to Azadi Square. The coffin will also be present at two sites in Iraq during the week of events.
It’s been more than four months since Ali Khamenei was killed at the age of 86 ob Feb. 28 during the opening salvo on the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. He was succeeded as supreme leader by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was not expected to attend funeral events after sustaining serious injuries in the same attack that killed his father.
The delay is a remarkable one as the custom in Islam is to bury the dead within three days.
Iranian officials said the ceremonies were delayed due to possible security issues associated with the war, NDTV reported. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said the capital expects an influx of up to 20 million people for the funeral, NBC News reported citing the Young Journalists Club, an organization affiliated with Iranian state-run media.
The dates for the funeral events were also symbolic in that they aligned with the 250th anniversary of the United States’ Independence Day as well as the Islamic month of Muharram, which commemorates the death of the 7th century Husayn ibn Ali, CNN reported.
