Kathmandu – Iran has begun funeral ceremonies for its former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, four months after he was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.
More than 100 heads of state and senior diplomatic representatives from around the world have arrived in Iran to attend the week-long mourning ceremonies, one of the largest state organized events in the history of the Islamic Republic.
Among those paying their respects are Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Asim Munir, Saudi Deputy Foreign minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji and Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The bodies of Khamenei’s daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law and three-year-old granddaughter, who were also killed in the strike have been placed alongside his coffin. The funeral procession will travel through several Iranian and Iraqi religious cities before Khamenei is laid to rest in his birthplace of Mashhad on July 9.
Iranian authorities have mobilized government employees, security forces, rescue workers, religious groups and volunteers to manage the ceremonies which are expected to draw millions of mourners across Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Authorities have implemented unprecedented security measures recalling the deadly crowd crushes during the funerals of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and Quds Force commander QassemSoleimani in 2020.
Tehran’s airports have been closed private vehicles restricted and more than 700 parking areas opened. Emergency preparations include 2,500 ambulances, 21 helicopters, 100 drones, thousands of rescue personnel and dozens of hospitals.
Amid heightened regional tensions Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Tehran would respond firmly if commitments to end the conflict were not honoured. Analysts say Khamenei’s killing has reshaped Iran’s domestic political landscape strengthening national unity despite previous divisions.
