The body of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike, has been brought to a religious complex in Tehran, where the funeral ceremony will begin, state media reported on Monday, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
“The body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution has arrived at the “Imam Khomeini“ prayer hall,“ the state news agency IRNA wrote on the Telegram app, using the official name of the complex.
Meanwhile, an influential general leading Iran's Revolutionary Guards emerged from hiding ahead of the funeral, which will last several days.
Photos published online by Iranian state media showed General Ahmad Vahidi attending a funeral for the 86-year-old Khamenei, then sitting next to his coffin as Iranian clerics led a smaller service for him last night near the late supreme leader's former home in central Tehran.
According to experts, Vahidi has become a key player in formulating Iran's hardline stance in negotiations for a possible final end to the war with the United States. He is believed to be part of a small group in direct contact with Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being wounded in the Israeli strikes on February 28 that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Vahidi himself has not been seen in public since February 8, weeks before the start of the Iran-Iraq war.
An Israeli air strike killed Khamenei and several members of his family in the early hours of the war on February 28, the Associated Press recalls.
His multi-day funeral ceremony will begin tomorrow, with his body being carried through cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq.