Millions Join Funeral Procession in Tehran for Iran’s Late Supreme Leader Khamenei

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing AFP, a funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei was held in Tehran on Monday, July 6, drawing millions of mourners as authorities tightened crowd controls to avoid a repeat of the deadly stampede seen at Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1989 funeral. The ceremony began at 6 a.m., and Khamenei’s coffin—after lying in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Mosque—was escorted through the capital; he was killed at age 86 in an Israeli airstrike on February 28 that the report said was based on US intelligence. Iranian officials erected tall concrete barriers to separate the coffin convoy from the public; in 1989, Khomeini’s funeral drew about 10 million people and resulted in more than 10 deaths and over 10,000 injuries. The report said Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, who was appointed as successor after the attack, has not appeared publicly or attended memorial events, with officials saying he was also injured in the airstrike. It added that newly appointed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi and Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani appeared at the outdoor funeral, while several former Iranian presidents who had tense relations with Khamenei were not seen. After the Tehran procession, the coffin is set to travel to Qom, Najaf and Karbala, and be buried on Thursday, July 9, in Mashhad.