Tehran holds funeral prayers for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iranian state media reported Sunday that funeral prayers were performed for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family in Tehran, with millions of mourners, prominent Iranian officials and foreign delegations attending the service.

Iranian television said the prayers were led by Grand Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla compound.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and other senior government and military leaders attended the funeral along with delegations from almost 100 countries.

The site was filled with large people, many of whom were holding red flags, which are widely seen in Iran as a symbol of the quest for justice and revenge for those who were slaughtered. Mourners screamed chants including “Death to America” and “Revenge, Revenge” during the service.

The bodies of Khamenei and members of his family, who Iranian authorities believe died with him, have been put on public display in Tehran for people to pay their last respects.

A large funeral procession is planned for Monday morning before the remains are sent to the holy city of Qom. The body will next be carried to the Iraqi holy sites of Najaf and Karbala before being buried in Khamenei’s birthplace of Mashhad on July 9.

Iranian media stated Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi will lead funeral prayers in the city of Qom while Grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani would lead funeral prayers in the city of Mashhad.

At the outset of the war with the United States and Israel, on February 28, Khamenei, 86, was targeted in an airstrike after leading Iran with absolute control for almost 37 years.