Thousands Gather in Tehran for Ali Khamenei's Funeral

Istanbul (ANTARA) - Thousands of mourners gathered at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla in Tehran, Iran, to attend the funeral procession of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which commenced on Saturday and will continue for a week. The funeral procession began with the singing of the national anthem, Quranic recitations, and religious sermons, as reported by state broadcaster IRIB. The coffin containing Khamenei’s body was displayed in a glass case to allow mourners to pay their final respects. The official funeral procession for Ali Khamenei began on Friday (2/7), attended by foreign leaders and official delegations from across Iran and abroad, who came to pay their last respects to the late Supreme Leader. According to the national airline, special additional flights have been arranged on the Tehran-Mashhad route to accommodate the surge in travel demand from mourners wishing to attend Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession. According to the official schedule, memorial ceremonies for Ali Khamenei will continue in Tehran throughout the weekend, attended by several heads of state, senior officials, and religious figures. On Wednesday (8/7), ceremonies are scheduled to take place in Iraq—including Baghdad, Najaf, and Karbala—where the body will be received by religious and political figures before being moved to key Shia holy sites. The funeral procession and burial of Ali Khamenei will take place on Thursday (9/7) at the Shrine of Imam Ali Reza in the city of Mashhad, one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims. Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February.