Iranian State TV says plans underway for funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iranian authorities are laying the groundwork for a “grand” funeral for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, official media reported Friday, following a lengthy postponement due to the Islamic republic’s war with the United States and Israel.

Though the timing was still uncertain, “a special headquarters has been formed to prepare for the funeral ceremony, and various agencies are currently planning and making arrangements”, state TV reported, citing Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of the Tehran Coordination Council for Islamic Propaganda.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic republic for more than three decades, was martyred in the first wave of US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28.

His son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei was also wounded in the attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office.

An event paying tribute to the elder Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was organised in April, but a state funeral that was initially announced could not be held because of the war.

State TV, citing Mahmoudi, said “different organisations are working to provide the necessary conditions so that, once officially announced, a ‘grand’ ceremony can be held”, adding “widespread attendance” was expected.

Though a ceasefire has largely held since coming into effect in April, a deal to definitively end the conflict has proven elusive.

No deal with US until Iranian rights secured

Earlier, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran will not agree to any deal with the United States that fails to secure the rights of Iranians.

“We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld,” Ghalibaf said, in a video broadcast on state television.

He added that Iranian negotiators “neither trust the enemy’s words nor its promises.”

His remarks came as Iran and Washington continue to exchange proposals over a framework for a deal to end the war that broke out on February 28, engulfing the Middle East.

On Saturday, The New York Times and Axios media outlets reported that US President Donald Trump had sent back to Tehran a new framework to be considered by Iran with “tougher” terms.

It was not immediately clear what that entailed.