After almost four months since his assassination, former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body will be taken out for a funeral procession, where he will be laid to rest near the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad city. The move would fulfill Khamenei’s final wish of being buried next to one of Shia Islam’s most respected figures. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) predicts his funeral, which is expected to be around June 21, to be one of the largest public gatherings in modern history.
State media reported that Iranian officials expect around 20 million mourners to gather in Tehran, Qom, and Masshad for the funeral ceremonies. Authorities have set aside three days for public viewings and farewells.
Khamenei, along with other family members, was killed in a joint U.S-Israeli airstrike in February 28, triggering the ongoing war in West Asia. His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded him as the country’s new Supreme Leader, although he has yet to make a public appearance since his appointment.
IRGC released a statement, quoting a Tehran municipality official, that Khamenei’s body will be taken in funeral processions through the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad.
Tehran Municipality’s Deputy for Social and Cultural Affairs Mohammad Ali Tavakolizadeh outlined the plans for the funeral while the IRGC is overseeing its organisation.
The funeral of Ali Khamenei’s predecessor and founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in June 1989 led to a gathering of around 10 million people. The Guinness World Records recognised it as the largest proportion of a national population ever to attend a funeral. The procession also resulted in a stampede, killing at least eight people and injuring thousands.
Officials are taking steps to prevent a similar tragedy, while overcoming the challenges of organising a large-scale event in a country that is currently recovering from a war.
