Ali Khamenei, who served as Iran's supreme leader from 1989 until his death at age 86, was killed during the opening day of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. His body was transported to the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where it was displayed for the first time during an indoor ceremony on Thursday. The coffin was carried into the Great Hall on Friday, passing through a crowd that pushed forward to touch it.
The funeral procession will travel from Tehran to Qom, then to Shia holy cities in Iraq, before concluding with burial in Khamenei's hometown of Mashhad. The event is expected to draw up to 30 million attendees, according to Iranian officials. Foreign dignitaries including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian deputy security council head Dmitry Medvedev attended, though no Western leaders were invited.
The coffins of Khamenei and three family members killed in the same airstrike, including his 14-month-old granddaughter, were displayed at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque. Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and IRGC commander Gen Ahmad Vahidi, attended the ceremonies. Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in the strikes, has not appeared publicly and communicated only through written statements.