Tehran: Iran began a procession Monday through its capital, Tehran, for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed Feb. 28 in an airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, sat on board a truck. Authorities decorated the truck’s side to resemble the ornamental grating that surrounds the shrine of an imam.
The truck crept through crowds of black-clad mourners, who reached out to touch the grating. Some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing. Attendants sprayed misted water across the crowds to cool them in the summertime temperatures.
Authorities appeared concerned about the dangers of having a large crowd alongside the procession, with officials on loudspeakers urging the public to walk slowly, not to push and to stay to the edges of the street.
The coffins will be taken through the streets of Tehran on their way to Mehrabad International Airport over a 12-hour journey, said Revolutionary Guard Gen. Hasan Hasanzadeh, who is overseeing the procession.
Iran’s theocracy plans to see large crowds attend the ceremony across the city to show popular support for the government. Already, hundreds of thousands have gathered at squares in Tehran, waving flags and banners in Khamenei’s honour.
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Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began Saturday and will end Thursday as the 86-year-old Khamenei is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
The US is meanwhile pressing ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back its disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war. Talks appear to be on hold until after the burial.
As the funeral has gone on, however, there have been increasing threats from mourners to avenge Khamenei’s death. Mourners and the signs they carry have called for the killing of both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Such signs were seen Monday again along the procession’s route, with one effigy of Trump being hanged.
US federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials for years, stemming from Trump’s ordering the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who had led the elite Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to kill Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage long has suggested Trump was in Tehran’s crosshairs.
Trump meanwhile promised to destroy Iran’s civilisation during the war, among other threats.
Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very tough day, mourner Fatima Hassan said Monday morning. We are not here to say goodbye to him; we are here for revenge.