Iranian authorities are reportedly preparing contingency plans for a possible mass-casualty incident during the week-long funeral ceremonies of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, amid concerns that massive crowds and extreme heat could lead to deadly stampedes.
According to German media outlet WELT, a classified letter from the Iranian Red Crescent and the National Crisis Management Organisation to First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref outlines a worst-case scenario in which between 1,500 and 3,000 people could die in crowd-related incidents during the funeral processions.
The report states that emergency authorities have prepared detailed disaster-response plans, anticipating millions of mourners at the ceremonies. Officials reportedly fear that the combination of exceptionally large crowds and soaring temperatures could trigger crowd crushes or other fatal incidents.
Citing a Tehran municipality employee, WELT reported that thousands of additional graves have already been prepared at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
“The prepared graves really exist. Those responsible were told that up to 3,000 dead would be okay. With such a large crowd and this extreme heat, no one knows what will happen,” the employee was quoted as saying.
The report further claims that Iranian authorities have established a dedicated unit to coordinate the identification and handling of the dead and missing in the event of a major disaster.
Why has Iranย prepared for a mass-casualty scenario?
The reported contingency planning appears to have been shaped by the deadly crowd crush during the funeral of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
Following Soleimani’s assassination in a US drone strike, millions gathered for his funeral across Iran. During the procession in his hometown of Kerman on January 7, 2020, a stampede killed at least 56 people and injured more than 200 others, forcing authorities to suspend the funeral and delay his burial until the crowds could be brought under control.
Officials are reportedly determined to avoid a repeat of that tragedy by preparing for the worst-case scenario, particularly as this funeral is expected to attract significantly larger crowds over multiple days.
Khamenei’s week-long funeral schedule
Khamenei, who led Iran from 1989 until his death at the age of 86, was killed along with several members of his family and senior officials in an Israeli strike on the opening day of the Iran-Israel war on February 28.
The funeral ceremonies are scheduled to last a week. Khamenei’s coffin will remain in Tehran for three days before being taken to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday. A procession is then planned in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday, with his burial scheduled for Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
He is expected to be buried alongside several family members who were also killed in the February 28 strike, including his infant granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani, his daughter, son-in-law and the wife of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Also read:ย Iranian Parliament Speaker, Foreign Minister break down during Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral | VIDEO
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