Funeral of Ali Khamenei LIVE: Indian religious leaders pay respects to Iran’s late supreme leader | Today’s news
Funeral of Ali Khamenei LIVE NEWS: Late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest next week after a day-long funeral. Several world leaders are expected to attend the funeral, which takes place between July 4 and July 10. The last funeral will take place next Friday.
The 86-year-old cleric was killed during US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28. His funeral was postponed as the war in Iran continued. Funeral services will begin this weekend in Tehran, with mass processions planned next week in Qom and Mashhad and ceremonies in Iraq.
Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin lay in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla. Unveiled late Thursday to a crowd of sobbing supporters, Khamenei’s coffin — and that of family members killed with him — was laid in state Friday in a large prayer hall built in honor of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Which countries broadcast heads of state or government?
World leaders attending the funeral include: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Georgia’s President Mikhail Kavelashvili.
India said on Thursday that its deputy foreign minister and governor of Bihar will represent the country at the state funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Millions of people and a group of foreign dignitaries were expected to attend Saturday’s official ceremony for Ali Khamenei, with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout to avenge his death.
Who was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took the reins after the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the fiery ideologue who led the overthrow of the Shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics.
It fell to Khamenei, a more robust figure with a weaker religious faith, to transform this revolutionary vision into a state establishment. He built Iran’s military power, including through proxies
He supported a myriad of armed groups in the Middle East, promoted Iran’s nuclear program and cracked down on several protest movements. While his clashes with the US and Israel were a source of support at home, they ultimately led to his demise.
Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates on Ali Khamenei’s funeral.
