Agencies | Tehran:
Iran on Thursday began the final farewell for its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his coffin arrived in Tehran ahead of a week-long state funeral marking the end of more than three decades of his leadership.
According to Iranian state media, the coffin was brought to the site of his martyrdom in an unannounced ceremony before the commencement of public mourning events. The official farewell ceremony will be held near the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah in Tehran, close to where Khamenei died. Public ceremonies are scheduled to begin on Friday night and continue for three to four days.
Families of those killed in the war attended the arrival ceremony, along with senior Iranian officials, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Ahmad Vahidi.
Khamenei was killed in airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel on February 28, the first day of the conflict. His body remained in cold storage for the past 124 days.
Iran Warns US, Israel Against Further Strikes
As funeral preparations continued, Iran issued a stern warning to the United States and Israel against launching any fresh attacks during the mourning period.
“We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the U.S. and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state media.
Meanwhile, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader, is unlikely to make a public appearance during the funeral ceremonies due to security concerns, according to Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, the Supreme Leader’s representative in India.
“I was in Iran last week and met some of my friends who met him. They said he wants to come out. He wants to meet people. But the security doesn’t allow him to come,” Elahi told India Today.
“They said, ‘It is very dangerous and we cannot provide security for him.’ I think he will not come out,” he added.
Week-Long Funeral Across Iran and Iraq
Iran has planned a series of funeral processions beginning in Tehran before continuing in the holy city of Qom and Iraq’s shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala.
Qom Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi said the expected large turnout would reaffirm public support for the Islamic Republic.
Authorities have converted schools, mosques and sports halls into accommodation centres for mourners, while hotels are offering discounted stays. Bus and rail services have been rerouted to facilitate travel, and temporary airspace restrictions have been imposed over Tehran and other cities amid heightened security.
The funeral ceremonies will formally begin on Saturday, when Khamenei’s remains will be taken to a mosque in Tehran for the first leg of a nationwide funerary tour. The bodies of his daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter and the widow of his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who were killed in the same strike, will accompany the procession.
After a public procession in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to Qom on Tuesday. Memorial events are scheduled in Iraq’s shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday, with attendees expected from Iran’s regional network of Shi’ite groups.
Khamenei will be laid to rest on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad, near the shrine of Imam Reza, following a final funeral procession.
According to Bloomberg, senior Chinese and Russian officials are expected to attend the funeral in Tehran. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and several regional leaders are also expected to participate in the high-security state ceremonies.
