Tehran holds funeral procession for Khamenei

A crowd of millions assembled on Monday for the funeral procession of Iran's assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

A truck carrying the bodies of Khamenei and his family members, shrouded in mourning cloth inscribed with verses from the Quran, was surrounded by the IRGC and soldiers who cleared a path for the funeral procession. Over 200 foreign reporters observed the ceremony from the city hall’s roof.

Security for the event was ensured by several thousand police officers and military personnel. To prevent overcrowding, law enforcement officers kept the flow of people separated.

From the capital, the leader’s body will be taken to the city of Qom, Iran’s main religious center. On July 8, it will be transported onward to neighboring Iraq, where separate farewell ceremonies will be held in Karbala and Najaf. The funeral is scheduled for July 9 in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad, home to the Imam Reza Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.