Mourners packed the vast courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Saturday as Iran launched a week of funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The public farewell opened with the national anthem, religious eulogies and readings from the Koran.
Television footage showed Khamenei's coffin draped in the Iranian flag and topped with his black turban. It rested with four additional coffins of slain family members on a large black platform that resembled the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure at the centre of Islam's holiest site in Mecca.
The prayer hall and its adjoining courtyard were filled with people carrying Iranian flags and photographs of the deceased leader. State broadcaster Seda va Sima reported that chants of "'Death to America'" echoed through the Mosalla during the ceremony.
"Our slogan is one word: Revenge, revenge," and "We will kill, we will kill he who killed our Imam,"
were also heard in video posts on other state media news sites, according to the same coverage.
Organisers misted water from rooftops to provide relief from the summer heat as the mourning continued. Khamenei's coffin is scheduled to remain at the Mosalla until Sunday evening.
Following the initial public display, officials expect the body to travel to key Shi'ite centres in the region. The itinerary provided by authorities includes stops in Qom, Najaf and Kerbala, before a planned burial on Thursday in Mashhad, home to Iran's holiest pilgrim shrine.
The coffin was unveiled late on Thursday to an emotional crowd that, according to broadcast footage, swayed and beat their heads in time to a sung lament while flowers were tossed from the bier into the assembled mourners. On Friday it was laid in state within the large prayer hall built to honour his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Authorities have said they will mobilise millions of people for the upcoming large processions and are arranging transport, food and lodging to support and boost turnout. The scale of planned logistics includes offerings of travel and accommodation intended to facilitate participation in the ceremonies.
The state also faces a leadership transition on display. Mojtaba Khamenei, identified by officials as the new supreme leader, has not appeared in any new images since being wounded in the strike that killed his father, leaving his current public visibility unclear.
Summary of events and next steps:
- Public ceremonies began at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla with national and religious rites.
- The coffin, accompanied by four family members' coffins, was displayed on a black platform resembling the Kaaba.
- Authorities plan multiple processions and pilgrim stops in Qom, Najaf and Kerbala ahead of a burial in Mashhad on Thursday.