Iran has commenced a week-long period of national mourning for its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose body now lies in state in Tehran as senior government officials, foreign dignitaries, and thousands of mourners gather to pay their final respects.
According to Al Jazeera, Khamenei’s coffin was carried through the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran on Friday, draped in the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The ceremony marks the beginning of six days of funeral rites ahead of his burial, which was postponed due to the outbreak of war following his death.
Khamenei, who led Iran for more than three decades, was killed on February 28 at the age of 86 during a joint United States-Israeli military strike on his residential compound. Also killed in the attack were members of his immediate family, including his three-year-old granddaughter, eldest daughter, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and other top officials attended Friday’s ceremony. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ahmad Vahidi, also made his first public appearance since the conflict began.
According to Al Jazeera, more than 50 foreign delegations have already visited Tehran to honour the late leader. Among those attending are the presidents of Iraq, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Georgia, as well as Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
Al Jazeera also reported that Iran deliberately did not invite several European nations, with authorities saying invitations were withheld from countries they believe directly or indirectly supported the United States and Israel during the military campaign against Iran.
Authorities expect millions of people to participate in public mourning events beginning on Saturday. Funeral processions are scheduled to pass through several important religious cities, including Qom in Iran and Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before concluding in Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace and home to one of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines.
State media showed mourners throwing scarves and personal belongings toward Khamenei’s coffin to receive blessings, a longstanding religious tradition in Iran. The coffin was covered with a flag bearing the inscription “Ya Hussein,” a revered Shia expression commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
According to Al Jazeera, Iranian officials are portraying the funeral as a powerful demonstration of national unity following the conflict, insisting that the assassination of the country’s supreme leader failed to weaken the government but instead strengthened public solidarity in the face of external pressure.
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