Iranian officials paid their respects to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Friday at the start of a week-long funeral ceremony. The body is lying in state in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex, with millions expected to mourn before his burial next week.
AFP images showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin draped in the Islamic republic colors. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian paid respects alongside parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, and Afghanistan’s Taliban foreign minister also attended. Hamas and Hezbollah representatives joined the mourning.
Around 30 countries are expected to send representatives for the funeral. The city is preparing for large numbers of visitors, with portraits and quotes of Khamenei displayed around the Grand Mosalla complex.
Security has been heightened, and major thoroughfares will be closed during the procession. Tankers have been stationed to cool participants on Azadi Avenue. Tehran will observe public holidays from Saturday through Monday, with offices closing and restricted access to private vehicles.
Khamenei’s body will travel to Najaf and Karbala before his burial on July 9 at Mashhad’s shrine of Imam Reza. His son and successor, Mojtaba, has not been seen in public since becoming supreme leader.