Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Tehran on Monday as the funeral procession for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, began. Officials said it is expected to be the largest public gathering in Iran’s modern history.
The procession started at 6:00 AM local time from Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where Ayatollah Khamenei’s body had remained for two days. The funeral procession is expected to continue for 10 to 12 hours along a 10-kilometer route across the city.
On Sunday, Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led funeral prayers for Ayatollah Khamenei, his son-in-law Dr. Mesbah-ul-Hoda Bagheri-Kani, his daughter Zahra Haddad-Adel, his 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi-Golpayegani, and Seyyedeh Bushra Hosseini-Khamenei.
Leaders and officials from many countries, including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Turkey, came to Tehran to pay their respects during the funeral ceremonies.
The funeral events will continue in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday. More processions will be held on Wednesday at the shrines of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf and Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala.
According to Ayatollah Khamenei’s will, he will be laid to rest on Thursday, July 9, at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad.
