Khamenei's Body Arrives in Tehran Ahead of State Funeral Expected to Draw Millions

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The body of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes that triggered the recent Middle East war, arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of a state funeral expected to attract millions of mourners and foreign dignitaries.

State media reported that Khamenei's coffin, draped in Iran's tricolor flag, was carried into the Grand Mosalla, one of the Islamic Republic's most significant ceremonial venues. Images released by Iranian media showed mourners dressed in black gathering inside the hall, where the coffin was placed before a backdrop of red flowers and white butterfly decorations.

The official funeral ceremony is scheduled for Saturday after being postponed during the height of the conflict. The funeral comes as Iran and the United States observe a fragile ceasefire following a preliminary agreement aimed at halting the war.

Iranian officials expect between 15 and 20 million people to attend the ceremonies, potentially making it the largest state funeral in the country's history.

The Grand Mosalla will host Khamenei's body in state for three days. The bodies of several of his relatives who were also killed in the strikes will be presented during the mourning period.

A number of foreign delegations are expected to attend the funeral. Pakistan announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the ceremony, while China, Afghanistan, and several neighboring countries in the Caucasus region have also confirmed they will send representatives.

Preparations at the Grand Mosalla intensified on Thursday, with workers planting flowers and making final arrangements while security forces tightened measures around the venue.

"We are planting flowers and watering the shrubs for the farewell ceremony of our martyred guide," worker Hossein Moghadassi told state media. "People will come from all over Iran. There will be huge crowds."

On Thursday, Iran's chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urged citizens to attend the funeral in large numbers.

"I call on all the Iranian people to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence," Ghalibaf said in a statement, adding that "the nation's call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world."

Khamenei, who served as Iran's Supreme Leader for decades and was regarded by many Shiite Muslims as a leading spiritual figure, was 86 years old when he was killed in strikes targeting his compound in central Tehran. His death marked a pivotal moment in the regional conflict that erupted following the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.