Iran general reappears as Khamenei funeral preparations begin
Gen. Ahmad Vahidi was shown in public for the first time in months as Iran prepared a dayslong funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, a senior figure in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, appeared publicly for the first time in months as Tehran prepared funeral rites for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Associated Press reported. His appearance matters because Israel had targeted top Iranian military and government leaders during the war, and Vahidi is seen by experts as influential in Iran’s current posture toward the United States.
Iranian state media published photos showing Vahidi at a meeting about Khamenei’s funeral and later seated beside the late leader’s coffin during a smaller ceremony Thursday night near Khamenei’s former residence in central Tehran, according to AP. Vahidi had not been seen in public since Feb. 8, several weeks before the Iran war began, AP reported.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in Feb. 28 strikes, according to AP. Iranian state media said his coffin was placed on a stage at a mourning ceremony near the husseiniyah at his Tehran compound, with red tulips arranged in front of it and what appeared to be paper butterflies hanging above.
AP reported that experts describe Vahidi as a key voice in shaping Iran’s hard line in discussions over a possible permanent end to the war with the United States. He is believed to be among a small group with direct access to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, AP said.
Mojtaba Khamenei has remained out of sight after reportedly being wounded in the Feb. 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, AP reported. Israel killed senior figures in Iran’s military and government during the war and has also threatened Mojtaba Khamenei’s life, according to AP.
The Thursday night ceremony drew mourners dressed in black, whom Iranian state media identified as relatives of people killed in the 12-day war in 2025 and in the recent Iran war. AP reported that mourners tossed scarves and other items toward attendants so they could be touched to Khamenei’s coffin, a practice common in Iran.
State media later showed Khamenei’s coffin covered with a red flag bearing the Shiite phrase “Ya Hussein,” AP reported. The flag had flown over the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, Iraq, and AP noted that such a flag is traditionally associated with blood unjustly shed and a demand for revenge.
On Friday morning, security forces carried the coffin by hand into Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where it was draped in Iran’s national flag, AP reported. Religious leaders, government officials and foreign dignitaries filed past Khamenei’s coffin and the coffins of slain family members, including his 14-month-old granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, according to AP.
Iran is set to begin a dayslong funeral for Khamenei on Saturday, AP reported. His body is expected to be taken to cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq, while authorities plan major closures in Tehran, including streets and airspace, as mourners gather.
Khamenei ruled Iran for decades and confronted the West throughout his tenure, AP reported. The funeral is likely to bring Iran’s surviving power structure into public view at a moment when the country is still dealing with the fallout from war and leadership succession.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.