Iranian leaders pay respects at Khamenei’s coffin as days-long funeral begins
Delayed by months of conflict, Iran prepares to bury its slain supreme leader with a week of mass mourning
Iranian leaders began paying their respects on Friday before the coffin of the country’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral.
Khamenei’s body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions.
A coterie of foreign dignitaries is also due to attend Saturday’s official ceremony, with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout to avenge his death.
Photos showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, emblazoned with Iran’s tricolour flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the Islamic Republic’s most important ceremonial venues.
Others show crowds at a pre-funeral ceremony clad in black, as the coffin was set down against a backdrop of red flowers and white butterflies hanging in the air.
State television broadcast footage of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian paying his respects on Friday afternoon alongside parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Ahmad Vahidi, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military, also appeared, making his first appearance since the start of the war in February.