Iran Prepares For Up To 3,000 Deaths During Khamenei Funeral: Report

Iranian authorities are preparing contingency plans for a possible mass-casualty incident during the week-long funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with officials reportedly estimating that between 1,500 and 3,000 people could die in crowd-related incidents.

According to German newspaper WELT, a classified letter sent by the Iranian Red Crescent and the National Crisis Management Organisation to First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref projected a worst-case scenario of 1,500 to 3,000 fatalities during the funeral processions.

The report said emergency authorities have drawn up detailed disaster-response plans, fearing that the massive crowds expected to attend the ceremonies, combined with soaring temperatures, could trigger

deadly stampedes or other crowd-related incidents.

An employee of the Tehran municipality told WELT that thousands of additional graves have already been prepared at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.

“The prepared graves really exist. Those responsible were told that up to 3,000 dead would be okay. With such a large crowd and this extreme heat, no one knows what will happen,” the employee was quoted as saying.

According to the report, a special unit has also been established to coordinate the handling of the dead and missing should a major disaster occur.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until his death, was killed at the age of 86 along with several members of his family and senior officials in an Israeli strike on the opening day of the Iran-Israel war on February 28.

The funeral ceremonies are scheduled to span a week. Khamenei’s coffin will remain in Tehran for three days before being taken to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, followed by a procession in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday. He will be buried on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

He is set to be buried alongside several family members who were also killed in the February 28 strike, including his infant granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani, his daughter, son-in-law and the wife of his son Mojtaba Khamenei.

Why Are Iranian Authorities Preparing For Such a Scenario?

The reported contingency planning appears to have been influenced by the deadly crowd crush during the funeral of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

Following Soleimani’s assassination in a US drone strike, millions of mourners gathered across Iran. During his funeral procession on January 7, 2020, in his hometown of Kerman, a massive crowd crush killed at least 56 people and injured more than 200 others.

The tragedy forced Iranian authorities to suspend the funeral proceedings and postpone Soleimani’s burial for several hours until the crowds could be dispersed and the area secured.

With millions again expected to participate in Khamenei’s funeral processions, officials are reportedly seeking to avoid a repeat of the 2020 disaster by preparing for a worst-case scenario, according to the WELT report.