Iran has begun several days of public mourning and funeral processions for its former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in strikes launched by the United States and Israel.
The ceremonies come as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire following the signing of a preliminary agreement in June to halt their conflict.
Khamenei’s body will lie in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla from Friday, July 3, ahead of his burial in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday.
Iranian authorities said between 12 million and 20 million people are expected to attend what they have described as the “funeral of the century.”
The six-day funeral ceremonies will officially begin at 6:00 a.m. local time (03:30 BST) on Saturday at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, where members of the public will be able to pay their respects until Sunday afternoon.
An official state funeral will also be held in Tehran on Saturday under the coordination of the Tehran-based Mohammad Rasulullah Corps.
The corps’ commander, Hassan Hassanzadeh, said Khamenei’s coffin would be placed on an elevated platform, with crowd management measures designed to allow mourners to enter and leave the venue within 15 to 20 minutes.
Khamenei’s body will remain at the Grand Mosalla for three days alongside the remains of family members who were also killed in the U.S. and Israeli strikes in February.
Authorities have ordered the closure of public and private offices in Tehran from Saturday through Monday, while traffic restrictions will bar most private vehicles from entering the city centre.
According to AFP, Tehran’s airspace will be partially closed from Friday and fully closed on Monday.
On Tuesday, the ceremonies will move to Qom, south of Tehran, where a senior Shia cleric will lead funeral prayers at Jamkaran, one of Iran’s most revered religious sites.
The body will then be taken to Najaf, Iraq, on Wednesday for a procession at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the first Imam in Shia Islam. The funeral cortege will continue to Karbala before returning to Iran.
Iranian officials said the ceremonies in Iraq were included at the request of Iraqi groups, while some analysts said the events reflect Khamenei’s influence across the Shia Muslim world and Iran’s enduring religious and political ties in the region.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Baghdad to coordinate arrangements for the ceremonies, describing the funeral as one of “symbolic importance.”
Khamenei will be laid to rest on Thursday at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. The shrine, which houses the mausoleum of Shia Islam’s eighth Imam, is Iran’s most important pilgrimage site and attracts millions of visitors each year.
Representatives from several countries, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are expected to attend the funeral ceremonies.
Commemorative events will continue across Iran for 40 days, with additional memorial activities planned until the first anniversary of Khamenei’s burial.