An Iranian official on Wednesday said the funeral procession for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei will pass through Iraq before his burial in Iran next month.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said farewell ceremonies and funeral events for Khamenei will be held from July 4 to July 9.
According to the schedule, ceremonies will begin in Tehran on July 4, followed by an event in the holy city of Qom on July 7. The procession will then move through Iraq on July 8 before concluding with Khamenei’s burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on July 9.
Funeral Route To Pass Through Iraq
Speaking in a video carried by Iranian state media, Zakani said the ceremonies in Iraq would take place on July 8, though he did not specify which locations would be included in the procession.
Iraqi authorities have not yet commented on the announcement.
Iraq is home to some of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, including the shrines of Imam Ali in Najaf and Imam Hussein in Karbala.
Preparations For Massive Turnout
Zakani said preparations were underway for large-scale ceremonies in Tehran, where officials expect nearly 20 million people to take part. He claimed the capital had “never had such a large crowd in its history”.
Khamenei, who led Iran for nearly 37 years, was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28 during the opening hours of the conflict. Reports said several members of his family were also killed in the attack. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the strikes, succeeded him as supreme leader in early March but has not yet appeared in public.
The burial was originally expected to take place in March but was postponed because of the war. The funeral ceremonies will begin on July 4, which coincides with the 250th anniversary celebrations of US Independence Day.
(With inputs from AFP)
