Funeral prayers are to be offered over the body of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday, the third day of extensive funeral ceremonies that have drawn unprecedented crowds to the Iranian capital.
Funeral organizers have announced that the prayers will be led by one of the grand religious authorities, without officially confirming a name.
The martyred Leader led the Islamic Revolution from 1989 until his martyrdom at the age of 86 on February 28, the first day of the latest bout of the United States’ and the Israeli regime’s unprovoked aggression targeting the Islamic Republic.
The prayers are slated to be held at 8:00 a.m. local time.
In the evening, the body will leave Tehran’s Grand Prayer Grounds, where it has been lying in state, in preparation for Monday’s funeral processions through the capital.
On Saturday, vast crowds of Iranians amassed for the start of the public funeral ceremonies.
Clad in black and waving blood-red flags symbolizing vengeance and pursuit of justice, mourners beat their chests in grief as chants of “death to America” and “revenge, revenge” echoed around the venue.
The coffins of Ayatollah Khamenei and four family members also martyred in the February 28 strikes, including his infant granddaughter, have been placed on a raised dais.
Authorities believe the ceremonies will mobilize more than 10 million people in the capital alone, while some estimates project a 20-million-strong turnout.
The funeral ceremonies officially began on Friday, with foreign dignitaries and official delegations from across the region and beyond paying tribute.
Among the foreign dignitaries attending were Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and a senior Chinese representative.
Also on Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the participation, stating that “it pleases Iran to have received representatives from more than seventy countries who chose to participate in honoring our martyred Supreme Leader.”
He noted the presence of “our loyal Arab brothers” in the ceremonies, adding that “this historic commemoration will remain an eternal memory in the course of our shared relations.”
The funeral rites will move to the holy city of Qom in north-central Iran on July 7. On July 8, ceremonies are scheduled in Iraq, including in the capital Baghdad as well as the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, where the body of the martyred Leader will be received by religious and political figures before being transferred to holy shrines.
The final funeral and burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in the holy northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
