Tehran draws vast crowds for Khamenei funeral ceremonies
Iranian officials say more than 10 million mourners could attend six days of ceremonies for the late supreme leader and family members killed with him.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Hundreds of thousands of mourners filled Tehran on Saturday as Iran opened a six-day funeral programme for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to reporting by AFP, AP and Reuters. Iranian officials said they expect the ceremonies to draw more than 10 million people from Iran and abroad, making the transition in Tehran a major domestic and regional moment.
Crowds packed main roads and the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque, where mourners gathered around coffins draped in Iranian flags. Many wore black, carried portraits of Khamenei and waved flags as Quran recitations and elegies played over loudspeakers, the news agencies reported.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in a US-Israeli attack at the start of the war on Iran in February, according to AFP, AP and Reuters. Several members of his family died in the same strike, including his three-year-old granddaughter, and their bodies are being honoured alongside his.
Schools opened for mourners
Iranian authorities have opened more than 5,000 schools and tens of thousands of classrooms across the country to house pilgrims travelling to the capital, the agencies reported. Security forces were deployed at major squares, intersections and checkpoints as officials tried to control the flow of people through Tehran.
The office of supreme leader carries broad religious importance for Shia Muslims, and officials have framed the ceremonies as a national farewell. Delegations from more than 100 countries attended a separate ceremony for foreign dignitaries on Friday, according to AFP, AP and Reuters.
The funeral schedule is set to run through Monday in Tehran before moving to the holy city of Qom, then to Iraq, and finally to Mashhad in northeastern Iran for burial. The sequence places the mourning ceremonies in several places of religious and political importance to Iran and the wider Shia community.
Timing adds political meaning
Analysts cited by the agencies said the timing carries added symbolism because the ceremonies fall during the first 10 days of Muharram, a period closely tied to Shia mourning and martyrdom. The funeral also coincides with the United States’ Independence Day, which analysts said adds a political edge to the public messaging around Khamenei’s death.
Photos from Tehran showed banners invoking martyrdom and resistance hanging from overpasses and lampposts. The same reporting said the ceremonies are also being used to project continuity after Khamenei’s son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, takes full authority.
Mojtaba Khamenei has pledged to keep Iran’s hard line in the region, according to AFP, AP and Reuters. For mourners in Tehran, the ceremonies mark the end of Ali Khamenei’s long rule while Iran’s leadership presents the succession as settled.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.