The funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in a joint strike by the United States (US) and Israel, will be held next month in Tehran, according to state media. It will be a six-day event which is expected to be attended by millions of people.
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Ali Khamenei’s farewell ceremonies will be held at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Prayer Grounds on July 4 and 5, while the procession will take place on July 6. This will be followed by ceremonies in Qom on July 7 and in Ali Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad on July 9.
Ali Khamenei’s funeral was earlier scheduled to be held in early Muharram, Islamic calendar’s first month which mostly falls in early June, but Iran postponed it to enable people to observe their annual mourning for Imam Hussein, who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
86-year-old Ali Khamenei was the second Supreme Leader of Iran after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He had assumed the position in June 1989.
A likely end to US-Iran war?
Coming to the US-Iran war, the over three-month-long conflict is probably in its last legs, with Washington and Tehran nearing a peace deal, though there is no clarity on when it would be signed. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said it would be signed this Sunday, but Iran dismissed it, though it assured that the deal was “closer than ever”.
However, Trump has maintained that the deal will be signed only on Sunday. “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is open to all,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday.
Pakistan, one of the top negotiators, meanwhile, has said the deal could be signed within 24 hours, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying Islamabad is “preparing for the electronic signing”. “We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace,” he said in an X post.
However, there has be no confirmation from Iranian side yet.
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