Funeral processions for Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei began in Tehran on Monday, state television reported, as authorities braced for crowds that could rival those that turned out for his predecessor nearly four decades ago.
The celebrations give Iran an opportunity to show its resilience after the war with the US and Israel, while attention is focused on Khamenei’s successor, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking power.
After two days of repose in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, the body of Khamenei – who was killed on the first day of the Middle East war on February 28 – began its journey through the capital accompanied by a large crowd of mourners, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Mourners gathered in Imam Hussein Square in eastern Tehran and hung a statue of US President Donald Trump, according to state media.
Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that marred the 1989 funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which drew an estimated 10 million people, according to state news agency IRNA.
The mob at Khomeini’s funeral killed more than 10 people and injured more than 10,000.
