A three-day commemoration ceremony for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran tonight, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Supporters are set to gather at the prayer hall of the Grand Mosalla of Tehran at 10 pm local time (18:30 GMT) to mark the start of the mourning period. Details regarding Khamenei’s funeral are still being finalised and will be announced soon, the report said.
Burial to Take Place in Mashhad
Iran is preparing to lay its longest-serving head of state to rest in Mashhad, one of the country’s holiest cities. Citing the semi-official Fars News Agency, AFP reported that Khamenei will be buried in the northeastern city where he was born. His father is interred at the revered Imam Reza shrine, a major pilgrimage site in Shia Islam.
Before the burial, a “large farewell ceremony” will be held in Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on its Telegram account. The date for the burial has not yet been disclosed.
Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, is among the country’s most important religious centres, drawing millions of pilgrims each year to the Imam Reza shrine.
Mojtaba Khamenei Named Successor
Khamenei was only the second Supreme Leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and wielded ultimate authority over key state matters, including defence, the economy and education. Over more than three decades, he maintained firm control over Iran’s political system while expanding its influence across the Middle East.
According to a report by Iran International, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Ali Khamenei, as the country’s next Supreme Leader.
Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric and the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei, reportedly served in Iran’s armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war and is widely viewed as having strong ties with the Revolutionary Guard.
