Hundreds of thousands attend Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral prayers in Tehran

TEHRAN: Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran on Sunday to attend the funeral prayers of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, months after he was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike.

The Grand Mosalla complex in the Iranian capital was filled with mourners carrying red flags, traditionally associated with blood vengeance and justice, while crowds chanted anti-US slogans during the funeral ceremony.

Ayatollah Ja’far Subhani led the funeral prayers for the late supreme leader and members of his family who were killed alongside him, including his daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law and granddaughter.

The ceremony was attended by Iran’s senior leadership, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as well as foreign delegations from around 100 countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and other members of the Pakistani delegation also attended the funeral after travelling to Tehran at the invitation of President Pezeshkian to offer condolences and express Pakistan’s solidarity with Iran.

Iran has declared Monday a nationwide public holiday, while an official day of mourning will be observed on July 8.

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Ayatollah Khamenei was killed on February 28 during a joint military operation carried out by the United States and Israel.

Following his death, Iran elected a new supreme leader on March 8 to ensure political continuity, while the final funeral and burial ceremonies were postponed.

On Saturday, the bodies of Ayatollah Khamenei and his family members were placed in state in Tehran to allow the public to pay their final respects.

According to Iranian state media, the funeral ceremonies will continue over several days.

The main funeral procession is scheduled to take place in Tehran on Monday, after which the bodies will be transported to the holy city of Qom.

The remains will then be taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala for further funeral rites before the final burial in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad on July 9.