Tehran: Hundreds of thousands of mourners began a days-long funeral on Saturday for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beating their chests in sorrow before the glass case containing his flag-draped coffin in Tehran and calling for revenge against Israel and the United States.
The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before he was killed at the age of 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike during the opening moments of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country's theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Sources close to Iran revealed that Mojtaba would not attend the funeral ceremony due to security concerns. Though efforts are underway to restore peace in West Asia, the US and its ally Israel have yet to reach an agreement with Iran.
Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US, to begin the funeral. While authorities did not acknowledge the timing, crowds at the ceremony in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!” The refrain has been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the US Embassy takeover and hostage crisis. They also cried: “Death to Israel!”
“We knocked the hell out of Iran,” US President Donald Trump said in a speech at the same time in South Dakota in front of Mount Rushmore. “They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”
The US president was not forgotten in Tehran. In the crowd at the Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large flag that read: “#KillTrump.”
Mourners wept at the sight of Khamenei's coffin alongside those of his family members who were also killed in the airstrike, with some chanting: “Our word is one! Revenge! Revenge!”
Some carried banners and flags, while billboards across the city bore Khamenei's image. Crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals.
“Imam Khamenei was our heart, our father, our everything,” mourner Masoumeh Mohammadi said. “I still can't believe they martyred him. We will not rest until we avenge his death.”
Grand Mosalla hosts Khamenei's last journey
An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once delivered his speeches at a Husseiniyah in his compound in downtown Tehran. There was a chair like the one he once sat in while delivering his sermons, complete with a microphone on a stand and a table beside it. Above it hung an image of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989.
Khomeini's funeral saw chaotic scenes as millions thronged his mourning ceremony and procession to the cemetery. Khamenei's death was only the second time Iran has lost a supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On Saturday, volunteers sprayed cooling water on crowds in the summer heat. Men and women congregated separately inside the Grand Mosalla after passing through metal detectors and security checks. Police carrying assault rifles stood guard on surrounding streets. Many people remained outside under the shade of trees because the city had shut down.
The caskets of his deceased family members were placed beneath Khamenei's, which had his black turban atop it, identifying him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Those being honoured included a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter, and the wife of Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous leader, who remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack.
“We attended the funeral to show that we are all committed to defending our country and religion,” said Ali Kazemi, who came from the northwestern city of Tabriz, some 530 kilometres (330 miles) from Tehran.
Khamenei's body will be transported to cities across Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning period, which will end on July 9 when he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei's birthplace.
Authorities offered no immediate attendance estimate for Saturday's event, which saw crowds moving in and out of the Grand Mosalla and surrounding streets. Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.
On July 5, a prayer for the dead is planned at the Grand Mosalla. On July 6, Khamenei's body and those of his family members will be taken through the streets of Tehran, an event likely to draw large crowds.
“I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei,” said a weeping Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral alongside her mother. “I never expected to see such a day. I wish I had died before this tragedy.”