Iran details nationwide funeral programme for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

TEHRAN: Iran’s Martyrs’ Headquarters has announced a six-day funeral program for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei across five cities, running from July 4 to July 9.

According to PressTV, ceremonies will open with two farewell events on July 4 and 5 at Imam Khomeini Mosalla in Tehran. A central procession will move through the capital on Monday, July 6. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s coffin will be carried alongside four other martyrs: Dr. Mosbah al-Hoda Bagheri, Sayyeda Bushra Hosseini Khamenei, Zahra Haddad Adel, and Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.

Funeral prayers are scheduled in Qom on July 7, with clerics and religious figures expected to attend. The cortege will then head to Iraq on July 8 for services in Najaf and Karbala. Timings and venues there will be announced by Iraqi authorities.

Burial of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will take place on July 9 at the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. Organizers said the date coincides with the night marking the martyrdom of Imam Sajjad.

Political, religious and diplomatic delegations from around the world are expected to join the events, the statement added. The main slogan is “Must Rise”. In the Arab world it will be “Qoomu Lillah”.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and members of his family were killed on Feb 28 in an unprovoked US-Israeli attack on Iran.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan’s delegation will attend the funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Addressing the National Assembly, PM Shehbaz said he received a telephone call from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during which the Iranian leader thanked Pakistan and its people for their support during a difficult period.

Shehbaz Sharif said he invited President Pezeshkian to visit Pakistan, and the Iranian president accepted the invitation.

“I told President Pezeshkian that the people of Pakistan would warmly welcome him whenever he visits the country,” the prime minister said.

He added that President Pezeshkian also invited him to participate in the funeral prayers of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“I assured him that we would attend the funeral. A Pakistani delegation will participate to demonstrate the deep respect and brotherly ties that exist between our two nations,” he said.

Also Read: Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader?