Iran prepares multi-city funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as IRGC commander appears publicly

TEHRAN — Preparations for the funeral of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei were in full swing on Friday, with authorities expecting millions and a coterie of foreign dignitaries to attend the official ceremony. Pakistan, a key mediator in talks between the United States and Iran on ending the Middle East war, said its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be at the funeral in Tehran on Saturday. China, Afghanistan and Iran's neighbours in the Caucasus region said they would also be sending representatives. Workers were readying Tehran's Grand Mosalla religious complex on Thursday, while security teams stopped passing cars and curious bystanders looked on. "We are planting flowers and watering the shrubs for the farewell ceremony of our martyred guide," said worker Hossein Moghadassi, clad in a hat and a scarf to cover his face as the temperature soared. "People will come from all over Iran. There will be huge crowds." Tehran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had called on Thursday for a massive turnout at the event as a way to avenge the supreme leader's death in U.S.-Isra

Morning update Iran has begun preparations for the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after his body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque ahead of ceremonies expected to draw millions of mourners. At the same time, Washington and Tehran continue to exchange messages over the implementation of their memorandum of understanding, while tensions persist in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Khamenei’s body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque, where mourners have begun gathering ahead of Saturday’s funeral. Iranian authorities expect more than 20 million people to participate in funeral ceremonies, which will conclude with Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on July 9. A red flag from the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad was placed over Khamenei’s coffin during ceremonies in Tehran. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, the new commander of the IRGC, made a rare public appearance during a memorial event in the Iranian capital. Pakistan’s interior minister arrived in Iran ahead of the funeral as foreign delegations continue to gather for the ceremonies. President Donald Trump said Iran has “almost agreed” to US demands and confirmed negotiations with Tehran will continue. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said lasting peace in the region must be comprehensive and free from external interference. Iran’s UN representative warned that any US violation of the memorandum of understanding would trigger an Iranian response. Iran’s military command instructed vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to follow designated routes or face a “forceful response”. In Lebanon, President Joseph Aoun called for international pressure on Israel to implement the framework agreement, while Israel announced the Givati Brigade had completed its mission in southern Lebanon. Red and black pennants hang above a street  in Tehran during preparations for the farewell ceremony of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, 2 July 2026. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

Huge scale of funeral for supreme leader across five cities is intended to relay message of resistance to rest of the worldIn the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei’s, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years.Killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion. Small groups of mourners carrying flags were gathering along the roads festooned with the red fist, the symbol of the funeral alongside the slogan “We must rise”. At a ceremony dedicated to the families of martyrs, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed. Continue reading...

Ali Khamenei’s six-day funeral expected to draw millions in Iran  The GuardianIran begins public mourning for Ayatollah killed in February  BBCIran war live: Tehran slams US before huge funeral for Ali Khamenei  Al JazeeraSupreme leader’s funeral expected to draw 20 million Iranians to streets of Tehran  The TelegraphIran sends defiant message to Trump with colossal funeral for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei  CNN

Dubai: A powerful general who leads Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged from hiding as Tehran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran's theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader's former home in downtown Tehran.The body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has arrived at the farewell ceremony near the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah in Tehran, close to the site where he passed away.Families of those killed in the war are in attendance along with Iranian officials, including IRGC… pic.twitter.com/MOMMaijepd— Global OSINT (@GlobalOSINTHQ) July 2, 2026 Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran's tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being reportedly wounded in the February 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.Vahidi himself hasn't been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began.120 gün saklandıktan sonra, 2 Temmuz 2026 Perşembe günü, İran Devrim Muhafızları Ordusu Komutan vekili Tümgeneral Ahmed Vahidi’nin, cenaze töreni hazırlık komitesi toplantılarına katıldığı, Ali Hamaney’in naaşıyla vedalaştığı anlara ait fotoğraflar yayımlandı. pic.twitter.com/jHQgxg8JCX— Elyar Türker (@ElyarMakuyi) July 2, 2026 Video published by Iranian state media showed the mourning ceremony for Khamenei near the husseiniyah at his compound in Tehran. An Israeli airstrike in the war's first moments killed Khamenei and some of his family members. State media said Khamenei's body sat within a coffin on a stage, with red tulips lined up in front of it. What appeared to be paper butterflies hung from the ceiling in front of it.The black-clad mourners, whom state media identified as coming from families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran.1/10 Ahmad Vahidi: Mastermind of Terror Abroad and Repression in Iran Amid the recent uprising, Khamenei appointed Vahidi as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC. He is the regime’s “break glass in case of emergency” option. But who is this man wanted by Interpol? pic.twitter.com/CwEPBV2utv— Ehsan Eghbal Eslami (@Ehsaneghbale) January 22, 2026 Later, state media showed images of Khamenei's casket draped by a red flag with white calligraphy reading "Ya Hussein,” a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. It had been flying over the Imam Hussein golden-domed shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolizes both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.Beginning Saturday, Iran will hold a dayslong funeral for Khamenei, and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. The funeral will begin at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where authorities plan to shut down streets and daily life as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei, who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. (Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

At the entrance to the vast religious complex where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body is set to lie in state from Saturday, dozens were hard at work under an intense heatwave to prepare for the assassinated supreme leader’s grand funeral. Security was on high alert ahead of the start of the funerary activities for Iran’s ruler for three decades, with dozens of personnel stationed at the main entrance to the Grand Mosalla, methodically stopping each car in the vicinity. Passengers must present a special permit to enter the premises, which have yet to be opened to the public. A man uses a hose during preparations for a funeral ceremony for Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, in Tehran, Iran on July 2, 2026. — Reuters AFP obtained special access on Thursday, as a handful of curious bystanders watched the preparations from just outside the complex. Within, the walls were draped in massive portraits of the late Khamenei, alongside black flags of mourning and red ones symbolising martyrdom and vengeance. In one image, Khamenei — then the president — appears alongside young fighters in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Hossein Moghadassi, one of those who has been working on the site for days, said, “We are planting flowers and watering the shrubs for the farewell ceremony of our martyred guide.” Workers on scaffolding during preparations for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Enghelab Square in Tehran, Iran on July 2, 2026. — Reuters He was clad in a hat and a scarf to cover his face as temperatures soared, with trucks transporting hundreds of boxes of drinking water in anticipation of the mercury surpassing 35º Celsius on Saturday, the first of six days of national mourning. “People will come from all over Iran. There will be huge crowds,” Moghadassi added. ‘Vengeance’ Authorities expect between 15 and 20 million people to participate in the funeral in Tehran alone. The gates to the Grand Mosalla are set to open at 6am (0230 GMT) on Saturday. Within the premises, dozens of ambulances and rescue vehicles have been parked in preparation for the funeral of the supreme leader, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28. Black banners bear several of Khamenei’s most famous quotes, while an image of the late leader with a raised fist — a symbol of resistance against the West — was ubiquitous across the site. Other banners read: “We are mourning, but we remain on our feet.” The Mosalla’s main building, a mosque, will host the supreme leader’s remains over three days for “pilgrims”, according to the organisers. On Monday, a procession will travel through the streets of the capital before arriving on Tuesday in the Shia holy city of Qom. Khamenei will be buried on July 9 in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, another holy city and the late ruler’s birthplace. Commuters drive past giant billboards bearing pictures of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ahead of his funeral, in Tehran, Iran on July 2, 2026. — AFP Iran’s top negotiator in talks with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Thursday called for a massive turnout as a way to avenge Khamenei’s death. “I invite all the Iranian people… to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence,” said Ghalibaf, who is also Iran’s parliament speaker. “The nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world.”