Intl desk: Iran has begun the first stage of funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, with foreign dignitaries and religious figures paying their respects at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla.
The Leader’s body, along with those of his companions, was transferred to Tehran’s Grand Mosalla early Friday and placed in the main prayer hall ahead of a two-day public farewell ceremony.
More than 20 million people are expected in Tehran for the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who was killed with family members at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
Iran’s army commander says it will “avenge blood” against the “enemies” who killed Ayatollah Khamenei.
Representatives from Islamic centers, civic groups, and antiwar and anti-hegemony movements from several European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, and Austria, have traveled to Tehran to attend or provide media coverage of the ceremony.
Ceremonies will continue on Saturday and Sunday with the body lying in state at the Grand Mosalla before a funeral procession through Tehran on Monday. Further rites are scheduled in the holy city of Qom, followed by ceremonies in Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf in Iraq, before burial in Mashhad on July 9.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Vice-Minister Walid al-Khuraiji and a delegation paid their respects to former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s military repeatedly attacked American military bases in Saudi Arabia after the US and Israel launched the war.
Source: IRNA
