Iranians Gather in Tehran to Bid Farewell to Ayatollah Khamenei

Iranians will begin bidding farewell to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a public ceremony in Tehran late Wednesday, according to a senior official quoted by state media.

Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of the Islamic Propagation Council, said the farewell ceremony will continue for three days. Details of the funeral procession will be announced later.

Members of the public will be able to pay their respects at the Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall from 10:00pm local time. Iranian media quoted Mahmoudi as saying the prayer hall will remain open to allow people to attend in large numbers.

State media reported that Khamenei, who led Iran for 36 years, was killed on February 28 at the age of 86 during air strikes carried out by Israel and the United States. He had built Iran’s political system around strong opposition to Washington and Tel Aviv.

Khamenei was originally from Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, where his father is buried at the Imam Reza Shrine. Iranian authorities said a large farewell ceremony would be held in Tehran before burial, though no burial date has yet been confirmed.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said preparations are under way for the ceremonies. Following Khamenei’s death, power was temporarily handed to a three-member interim council, which includes the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts, responsible for appointing the next supreme leader, is expected to meet after the burial. Iranian media reported that, for security reasons, the meeting could be delayed. Buildings linked to the assembly in Qom and Tehran were reportedly damaged in recent strikes.