Khamenei’s funeral begins and will last 6 days. "Death to the USA and Israel"

The week of public mourning ceremonies for the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began at dawn. A week of rituals deeply rooted in the Shiite Islamic tradition, which will involve millions of people across the country, while the procession with the body of the Iranian leader killed on February 28 in the attack by the USA and Israel will cross Iran and areas of neighboring Iraq.
The USA and Israel are the target of the slogans of the crowd attending the funeral: “Our motto is one word: vendetta” e “We will kill whoever killed our Imam“, chants the enormous mass of people crossing the capital. Previously, the crowd of government supporters had chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!”.

The doubt about the participation of his son Mojtaba

Khamenei’s body has been on display since yesterday in Tehran’s Great Prayer Complex, from where the late Iranian leader made important speeches during his more than thirty years as the country’s Supreme Leader. It’s not clear yet if the son and successor of the murdered leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will participate in the ceremonies. Mojtaba was injured in an airstrike around the same time his father was killed and has not been seen in public since.

The ceremony

Khamenei’s body will be on public display throughout the weekend at the Grand Mosque, where platforms have been set up for the wake. Yesterday the farewell was reserved for state officials and foreign dignitaries: Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia and Tajikistan sent delegations at the highest levels, the Arab states did not send heads of state or government, as did China and Russia, while no European representative was invited.

Today, however, it began actual public ceremony: At 6 a.m. the doors of the complex were opened to the public while the streets of the capital were decorated with flags reading “We must rise again,” the slogan of the funeral, authorities said. Around 7,000 officials are expected to be present along the route. Authorities expect around 700,000 pilgrims to take part in around 400 smaller processions in the region.

The procession through the streets of Tehran on Monday

On Monday, the coffin will be carried in procession through the streets of Tehran, marking the start of a four-day journey to Mashhadsacred city and birthplace of Khamenei. Along the way, the procession is expected to visit some of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam. After leaving Tehran, the procession will head south for about 160 kilometers to the holy city of Qom. According to Iranian state media, Khamenei’s body will be carried along a large avenue on Tuesday to the Jamkaran mosque on the outskirts of the city, where a collective prayer will be held. The procession is expected to cross the border into neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, where ceremonies are planned in the cities of Karbala and Najaf, both important historical sites for Shiite pilgrims.

Over a million people will participate in the last stage of the funeral procession, which will be held Thursday in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city. Khamenei will be buried after a ceremony at the shrine of Imam Reza, one of the twelve divine imams venerated by the country’s Shiites, who is buried in the same shrine.