Iran begins procession of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s coffin through Tehran
Large crowds are due to attend the ceremony.
Iran began a procession through its capital Tehran for the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday.
Mr Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of his family killed February 28 in an air strike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, sat on board a truck.
Authorities decorated the truck’s side to resemble the ornamental grating that surrounds the shrine of an imam.
The truck crept through crowds of black-clad mourners, who reached out to touch the grating. Some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
Attendants sprayed misted water across the crowds to cool them in the summertime temperatures.
Authorities appeared concerned about the dangers of having a large crowd alongside the procession, with officials on loudspeakers urging the public to walk slowly, not to push and to stay to the edges of the street.
The coffins are being taken through the streets of Tehran on their way to Mehrabad International Airport.
Iran’s theocracy plans to see large crowds attend the ceremony across the city to show popular support for the government.
Iranian state television reported the procession had started.
Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which began on Saturday and will end on Thursday as the 86-year-old is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
The US is meanwhile pressing ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rolling back its disputed nuclear programme and reaching a permanent end to the war. Talks appear to be on hold until after the burial.
As the funeral has gone on, there has increasingly been threats from mourners to avenge Mr Khamenei’s death. Mourners and the signs they carry have called for the killing of both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Mr Trump and other administration officials for years, stemming from Mr Trump’s ordering of the 2020 killing of General Qassem Soleimani, who had led the elite Quds Force. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to kill Mr Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage long has suggested the president was in Tehran’s crosshairs.
Mr Trump meanwhile promised to destroy Iran’s civilisation during the war, among other threats.
“Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very tough day,” mourner Fatima Hassan said on Monday morning. “We are not here to say goodbye to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.”