Tehran is set to hold a funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with preparations underway. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has appeared after a period of absence. Iranian state media released photos showing Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral arrangements and sitting next to Khamenei’s casket during a smaller service.
Vahidi is influential in Iran’s negotiations to potentially end its conflict with the United States. Experts suggest that he belongs to a select group in direct contact with the new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. The younger Khamenei reportedly went into hiding following injuries sustained in Israeli airstrikes that killed his father on February 28. Vahidi had not been publicly seen since February 8, prior to the start of the ongoing conflict.
State media broadcasted the mourning ceremony near the husseiniyah at Khamenei’s compound in Tehran, highlighting Khamenei’s body within a coffin on a stage, adorned with red tulips. Overhead, paper butterflies were suspended. An Israeli airstrike in the early stages of the war claimed the lives of Khamenei and members of his family.
The mourners, mostly relatives of those who lost loved ones in the recent war, donned black attire and engaged in the practice of brushing items against the coffin. A red flag with the inscription ‘Ya Hussein,’ symbolizing the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and a call for vengeance, draped Khamenei’s casket. Previously, this flag had flown over the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, Iraq.
On Friday morning, security forces transported Khamenei’s coffin to the Grand Mosalla in Tehran. Religious leaders, along with the coffins of Khamenei’s slain family members, including 14-month-old Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, were present at the ceremony.
Beginning Saturday, a multi-day funeral will be held for Khamenei, moving his body through various cities in Iran and Iraq. Authorities plan to close streets and airspace, disrupting daily life in Tehran as people pay tribute to Khamenei, who led Iran for many years.
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