Iran's Revolutionary Guards Chief Makes First Public Appearance Since War

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ahmad Vahidi, has appeared in Tehran to pay his final respects before the body of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Iranian media, this was his first public appearance since the Middle East war began in February.

In video footage and photographs broadcast by Iranian media outlet Fars on Friday (3/7), Vahidi was seen placing his hand on Khamenei’s coffin and praying. Prior to this, Vahidi had reportedly not appeared in public since the start of the war, likely to avoid assassination like his predecessor.

Khamenei’s body arrived at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Friday local time ahead of the funeral ceremony. The funeral for Khamenei, who was killed in a strike by the United States and Israel in February, is expected to be attended by millions of people.

Photographs showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, draped in the Iranian flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the most significant ceremonial sites in the country. Other images depicted crowds dressed in black attending the pre-funeral event, with the coffin placed against a backdrop of red flowers and hanging white butterfly decorations.

Millions of people and senior foreign officials are expected to attend the official ceremony for Khamenei on Saturday (4/7), with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout as an act of retaliation. Preparations for the public funeral, which had been delayed by the war, are underway amid a fragile ceasefire following a preliminary agreement to halt the conflict.