Most senior Iranian officials gathered in Tehran on Sunday for the great prayer organized in tribute to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the second day of national funerals, except for his son Mojtaba, invisible in public since his appointment as supreme guide.
The prayer lasted about ten minutes, and was led by Ja’far Sobhani, a 97-year-old ayatollah who teaches in the holy city of Qom.
AFP
In the front rows in front of the coffin, alongside the thousands of faithful continuing to flock to the immense Grande Mosalla complex where the funeral took place, were notably President Massoud Pezeshkian, the influential Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, President of Parliament and head of the Iranian negotiating team, and General Esmaïl Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the external operations branch of the Revolutionary Guards.
The leader of the Guardians Ahmad Vahidi, discreet since the start of the war, arrived in the middle of a compact crowd rushing to greet him.
Ali Khamenei’s three sons — Massoud, Mostafa and Meysam, according to state television footage — were also present. But not Mojtaba.
The 56-year-old leader, who succeeded his father as supreme guide, was himself injured in the Israeli-American bombings that killed Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war on February 28.
He has not appeared in public since, and only speaks through press releases attributed to him.
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Ali Khamenei’s coffin, wrapped in an Iranian flag on which his emblematic black turban was placed, is on display on site until Sunday, before a procession organized on Monday in Tehran.
The funerals will then continue in other cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq.
Heatwave and public holidays
The funeral site was packed with people on Sunday morning, like all the surrounding streets, according to an AFP journalist on site.
From the crowd emerge Iranian flags and red flags, symbolizing revenge and justice. Some devotees carry portraits of the late guide. Along the way, they receive refreshments, while temperatures will once again exceed 35°C during the day.
Sunday and Monday were declared public holidays to allow Iranians to come.
The authorities say they are expecting a total of between 15 and 20 million people in Tehran alone.
On Saturday, journalists saw worshipers beating their chests as a sign of mourning, others chanting “death to America”.
He “was a father to us all. With his disappearance, we all find ourselves orphans. Our grief is immense,” said Mohammad Mirsalehi, a 38-year-old Shiite cleric.
Many families spend part of the day sitting on carpets, listening to religious songs and tributes to the Ayatollah.
Imposing concrete blocks separate the public from the coffin, covered with messages left by the faithful in memory of the “hero Khamenei”, some of whom call to “kill Trump” or denounce the ongoing negotiations with the United States.
In front of the dome of the Great Mosalla, faithful take photos in front of portraits of the Ayatollah, while a child, dressed in a Guardian uniform, poses alongside his parents.
United States Birthday
These funerals are intended to be a demonstration of cohesion and strength, in the midst of negotiations with the United States after the signing last month of a framework agreement to end the conflict.
In a striking contrast, the first day of the funeral coincided with the splendor of the celebrations linked to the 250th anniversary of the United States.
After Monday’s procession in Tehran, Khamenei’s coffin must make a stopover in Qom and then in Iraq, a neighboring country where a large Shiite community lives.
The burial will take place on Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad (north-eastern Iran), where Ali Khamenei was from.
Ali Khamenei, who had the last word on the major directions of the state, presided over the destinies of Iran for more than three decades, until his death at the age of 86.
His funeral, initially planned for March, was postponed due to the war.
Alongside his coffin are those of his relatives killed with him: one of his daughters, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter, aged 14 months according to the authorities.
