‘Martyr of Iran’ Funeral Gets Underway in Tehran with Participation of Millions
Mourners have poured onto the streets of the Iranian capital as the funeral procession for Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei got underway, in what officials have described as the largest public gathering in the country’s modern history.
Hours before the official start of the ceremony, the streets leading to the funeral route were full of people, and people, holding the flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran and pictures of the martyred Leader, gathered on the designated routes to see him off and bid him farewell.
The procession began at 6:00 AM local time on Monday from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini (RA) Mosalla (prayer hall), where the body had lain in state for two days.
Organizers expect the procession to last 10 to 12 hours, winding along a 10-kilometer route through Damavand Street, Imam Hussein Square, Enqelab Street, Enqelab Square, Azadi Street, Azadi Square, and Shahid Lashgari Highway, located near the Mehrabad airport.
On Sunday, Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led funeral prayers for the martyred Leader, his son-in-law Dr. Mesbahol Hoda Bagheri Kani, his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad Adel, his granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani (14 months old), and his daughter Seyedeh Boshra Hosseini Khamenei.
Monday’s funeral procession has turned the streets leading to the funeral route into a scene of enthusiastic presence of people from different parts of the country from the early hours of the morning.
The large presence of people is such that hours before the official start of the ceremony, the main and side streets were filled with people. Men and women, young and old, families and various groups of people, holding flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran, pictures of the martyred Leader and placards celebrating his position, gathered on designated routes to bid their final farewell to their Leader.
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Today’s funeral ceremony, in addition to bidding farewell to the body of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, is a manifestation of national solidarity and cohesion, a demand for revenge, and a demonstration of the loyalty of a wide section of the people to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran
The funeral ceremonies will continue with similar events in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, followed by processions at the shrines of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf and Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala on Wednesday.
The burial will take place on Thursday, July 9, at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, in accordance with the martyred Leader's will.
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