Iranian state media on Friday said that the coffin carrying the body of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was taken to the site where he was killed. As per the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), “In an unannounced event, the coffin carrying the body of the martyred leader Ayatollah Khamenei was brought to the site of his martyrdom.”
Khamenei’s funeral onย July 4 and 5ย
The multi-day public farewell, scheduled to take place on July 4 and 5 in the capital city, is anticipated to draw a record-breaking crowd of up to 20 million participants, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Why Mojtaba skipped his father’s funeral
In the meantime, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojataba Khamenei said he will not attend the funeral ceremonies for his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, due to security concerns, according to the current leader’s representative in India, Ayatollah Hakim Elahi. Elahi attributed the decision to Israeli threats and surveillance risks that would make public attendance dangerous.
On June 27, Iranian state media Press TV reported that authorities in the Islamic Republic announced detailed arrangements for the two-day public farewell and funeral ceremonies of the late leader, with officials expecting one of the largest public gatherings in the country’s history.
In a televised interview, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Tehran Command, Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh, who is also the head of the headquarters overseeing the funeral arrangements, said the ceremonies would be held on July 4 and 5 and include public farewell events, funeral prayers and a funeral procession.
ย Public farewell will begin at 6 am on July 4ย
According to Press TV, citing Hassanzadeh, the public farewell ceremony will begin at 6 am (local time) on July 4 at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Grounds, which will open to mourners from that time onwards. He said the venue would not permit public access before the scheduled opening, while the farewell ceremony would continue until 8:00 pm (local time).
Funeral prayers have been scheduled for the morning of July 5. Hassanzadeh said two main ceremonies have been planned in Tehran, with the first comprising the public farewell and funeral prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Grounds and the second involving the funeral procession at a separate location, as reported by Press TV.
The IRGC commander said authorities had decided against using a single procession route after technical assessments concluded that no individual street in Tehran could safely accommodate the anticipated turnout. Instead, he said the procession would move along a broader corridor across the capital, with vehicle access restricted within the ceremony zone to facilitate public movement.
He said organisers had finalised the location where the body of the late Leader would lie in state, while a designated seating area for the Leader’s family had also been prepared.According to Hassanzadeh, the platform has been positioned at an elevated location to ensure visibility throughout the Prayer Grounds.
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