Three-day state funeral for Khamenei to be held

Iran will hold a three-day state funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died after coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel. The state funeral will begin on Wednesday night local time.

Iran’s Islamic Development Coordination Council, as reported by AFP on Wednesday (4 March 2025), announced that the public would have an opportunity to pay final respects to Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran.

‘From 22:00 local time, worshippers may pay their final respects to the martyr leader of the nation by visiting the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque,’ the council said, quoted by IRNA.

Head of Iran’s Islamic Dawah Council, Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, urged Muslims to attend the farewell ceremony.

‘The prayer hall will receive visitors, and the public may attend and participate in the farewell ceremony, demonstrating a strong presence once again,’ Mahmoudi said in statements cited by state media and France24.

The event will run for three days from Wednesday night, and the burial arrangements for Khamenei will be announced once everything has been prepared.

Khamenei will be buried in his birthplace Mashhad, in northeastern Iran.

Khamenei, who led Iran for more than three decades, died at the age of 86 on Saturday (28 February local time), after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Tehran and other areas of Iran.

Iranian authorities confirmed his death on Sunday (1 March local time), and announced a 40-day period of mourning for the deceased.