Tehran: The funeral procession of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and members of his family is currently underway in Tehran, drawing millions of Iranian and foreign mourners.
The procession began at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, where the coffins had lain in state in the preceding days. According to Iranian media, the route passes through Imam Hussein Square, Enghelab Square, Azadi Square, and Shahid Lashgari Highway before concluding at Mehrabad Airport. From there, the bodies of Ayatollah Khamenei and the other victims will be transferred to the holy city of Qom. On July 8, the coffins are scheduled to be taken to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, before Ayatollah Khamenei and his family are laid to rest in Mashhad on July 9.
Attendance Figures
According to Russian media, more than 10 million people attended the funeral, including citizens from 70 countries. Iranian media, however, put the figure considerably higher, reporting that between 12 million and 15 million people took part in the procession. The discrepancy in figures has not been independently verified.
A Nation in Mourning
Reports from the scene suggest that the scale of public mourning reflects how deeply attached large sections of the Iranian population had become to the late Supreme Leader, following his killing earlier this year in a strike attributed to the United States and Israel.
Accounts from the procession also describe deeply emotional and, at times, unusual displays of grief and reverence among mourners, with participants expressing a range of sentiments toward the late leader, from devotion to expressions of remorse.