Iran’s message when organizing a large-scale funeral for the late leader

Four months after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed by a US-Israeli air strike on February 28, millions of Iranians are expected to attend a week-long funeral across five cities to commemorate him. Iranian officials called on people to take to the streets to honor and say goodbye to the late leader during this time.

Iranian officials said they had activated one of the largest logistical operations in the country’s history. The government mobilized all forces, from civil servants, university staff, trade unions, firefighters, soldiers, aid workers to religious associations to organize funerals and coordinate the influx of people.

Organizers estimate there will be millions of pilgrims through cities and holy sites in Iran as well as neighboring Iraq to bid farewell to the late leader. Authorities in neighboring Iraq, where Shiite Muslims are the majority, estimate that the number of people coming to pay their respects in this country will also reach millions.

For more than a week, Iranian media continuously reported on the preparations for the funeral. Memorial songs and documentaries about Mr. Khamenei’s life replaced the information about negotiations with the US that had previously dominated the airwaves.

According to commentators Mostafa Salem and Aida Karimi from CNNby holding such a grand funeral, Iran seems to want to send a strong message to the US and Israel that they not only still stand strong after the conflict but also want to turn the image of the late leader into a symbol of their resilient spirit.

“We must stand up and speak out strongly before the whole world so that everyone knows that the honorable and noble Iranian people will never be silent in the face of oppression and will not let the Supreme Leader’s blood be shed in vain,” Iranian Parliament Chairman Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf emphasized in a message published by state media on July 2.

“A magnificent ceremony will demonstrate to the whole world the great mettle of our nation,” he declared.

Symbolic meaning

A detail that cannot be overlooked is the profound intention behind Iran’s choice of time to hold the funeral. Mr. Khamenei’s coffin is expected to be laid in state for people to pay their respects on the occasion of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

The entire festival also takes place in the month of Muharram according to the Islamic calendar. For Shiites, this is a sacred time to commemorate the death of Patriarch Hussein, one of the Shiite saints from whom Khamenei is said to be descended from.

Mr. Khamenei was killed on February 28, on the first day of the conflict between the US – Israel and Iran. However, his funeral was held as a victory parade passing through three major cities in Iran and two holy places in neighboring Iraq.

According to Sina Toossi, senior research expert at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, this is to prove to his supporters that he has not failed, even when he is dead.

“Being murdered at the hands of the US and Israel made Mr. Khamenei a much stronger symbol,” Toossi said. “Mr. Khamenei is currently built as a religious leader who sacrificed himself for his ideals, like the revered Shiite saints. His very death became iron proof that his living ideals were completely correct.”

50 million loaves of bread

Iran has only held funerals on such a large scale twice before. Those were the funerals of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds force, in 2020. Due to the large number of attendees, both funerals witnessed chaotic scenes and led to deadly stampedes.

Iranian officials at that time had to send a helicopter to transport Mr. Khomeini’s coffin after a crowd of excited mourners rushed to tear the shrouds on the coffin.

Protecting the leader’s coffin, coordinating millions of people to pay their respects with international delegations, as well as organizing a series of major events in five cities in two countries is a huge challenge. This mission requires an unprecedented security campaign, in the context that Iran has not completely escaped instability after 4 months of confrontation between the US and Israel.

The series of funeral events will open at 6:00 a.m. on July 4, when Mr. Khamenei’s coffin will be placed on a high platform built inside the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran. Firefighters installed more than 6,000 high-level sprinklers throughout the square to cool down crowds under the hot July sun.

The capital’s international and domestic airports will be closed during the days of the funeral, and people in the cities where Mr. Khamenei’s coffin passes will also have a holiday.

Tehran, a city with 17 million people, will deploy an unprecedented traffic flow plan by banning all private vehicles near the ceremony area and opening more than 700 parking lots to accommodate the millions of people expected to arrive at the same time.

The Basij volunteer militia said 16 mobile bakeries will be arranged throughout the capital to bake 50 million loaves of bread to serve the people who come to pay their respects.

The Red Crescent Association said Tehran and other major cities have completed preparations to welcome the influx of people to commemorate. According to Iranian media, authorities have mobilized 2,500 ambulances, 21 helicopters, 100 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and thousands of rescue workers, and are readying more than 20 hospitals, 500,000 liters of infusion fluid and 20,000 classrooms to serve when needed.

The government launched a nationwide campaign calling on people to give up their accommodation to welcome mourners in Tehran, Mashhad and Qom. Meanwhile, mosques, sports stadiums, parks and cultural centers in the capital are also being prepared to accommodate millions of people expected to flock to the city to attend the funeral.

Show off your strength

On the third day, the funeral procession is expected to move from the east to the west of the capital. Khamenei’s coffin will then be taken to the holy city of Qom for further rituals before being flown to Shiite holy sites in Najaf and Karbala in Iraq.

Finally, the coffin will be transferred to the burial place at Imam Reza’s mausoleum in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown.

Moving the late supreme leader’s coffin to Iraq is a way for Iran to show that it is always a force without borders. This is also the message that Iran wants to strongly affirm after many years of expanding its influence in the region.

“His followers are spread across Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain and other Shiite communities. That is why the farewell ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala are so meaningful,” Toossi commented. “They highlight the feeling that this is not just Iran’s national funeral but an international event.”

Iranian officials predict between 4 million and 15 million people will pay their respects, making this the largest funeral in modern history. They also announced that up to 14,000 reporters, including 900 foreign journalists, will come to cover the event.

Iran’s Vice President described the funeral of late leader Khamenei as one of the most important milestones of the century, and the country’s Interior Minister affirmed that the goal is to organize a large farewell ceremony unprecedented in the country’s history.

Mr. Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and head of the organizing committee, announced that this funeral was to affirm the nation’s strength before the international community.

A big question now is whether Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei’s son, will appear at the funeral or not.

Injured in the US-Israel attack, Mr. Mojtaba has remained in hiding, keeping his whereabouts a secret since the conflict broke out. He only contacted his supporters through handwritten documents, never showing his face or speaking out.

Last week, when asked about whether Mr. Mojtaba would appear at the funeral, the head of the organizing committee avoided the question and said “this issue is not within our jurisdiction, the decision depends entirely on the Supreme Leader’s office.”

Mr. Mojtaba’s appearance will be an important mark, helping to confirm his legitimacy. On the contrary, his absence could increase doubts at home and abroad about his health condition, as well as raise questions about who is really running the country.

But if he is truly absent from the funeral, Iran will likely explain that this is a necessary security measure.

The Iranian military has issued a warning that they must not allow any mistakes during the funeral. On July 1, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also announced that Tehran would respond immediately and strongly to all threats against the country’s leadership, after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei was “in sight”.