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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The bodies of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei (1939 - 2026) and several others killed alongside him in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran in late February were transferred to a mega mosque in the Iranian capital on Friday, Iranian state media reported, as a multi-day funeral ceremony is set to run through July 9 across several Iranian and Iraqi shrine cities.
“The Leader's body, along with those of his companions, was transferred to Tehran's Grand Mosalla early Friday and placed in the main prayer hall ahead of a two-day public farewell ceremony,” reported the state-run English-speaking broadcaster Press TV, adding that “senior officials and representatives from more than 30 countries” have already arrived in Iran to participate in the procession.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Thursday urged a large turnout, telling the Iranian people in a message, "Your huge presence is a decisive response to terror, violence, and bullying, and a clear message to the world showing that the Iranian nation stands united and unanimous in defending their independence and dignity."
Khamenei was killed on February 28, on the first day of the joint US-Israeli aerial campaign launched against Iran, which also killed several of the country's top leaders and commanders.
While several previous dates for the key event were set in previous weeks, the six-week Iran war and the ensuing intermittent tit-for-tat military escalations and maritime measures by Washington and Tehran in regional waters appear to have hindered it.
The funeral ceremony is set to begin Saturday and Sunday, with the body lying in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla before a mass funeral procession Monday in the Iranian capital.
Further rites are scheduled in Iran's shrine city of Qom, with Khamenei's body expected to be transferred to Iraq's southern holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.
Iraq's Security Media Cell head, Lieutenant General Saad Maan, announced Thursday that Iraq will receive the body of the late Iranian leader Tuesday evening, when "an official reception ceremony attended by senior government and religious figures from both countries" will be held, with a "public funeral procession set to begin at 6:00 am [local time] on Wednesday."
He pointed out preliminary estimates indicate "broad public participation that may reach millions of citizens and visitors from inside and outside Iraq," which has necessitated “a comprehensive security plan with the participation of various ministries and security and service agencies to ensure the smooth movement of the processions and provision of necessary services for participants.”
Khamenei’s final burial is set to take place in the northern shrine city of Mashhad in northern Iran on July 9.
Of note, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi arrived in Tehran on Friday to participate in the funeral procession as well.
