Iran will bury its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, according to Iranian state television.
Naijaonpoint reports that the funeral proceedings are scheduled to begin on July 4 in Tehran, more than four months after Khamenei was killed during US-Israeli airstrikes.
Iranian authorities confirmed his death on March 1, a day after the February 28 attack. The funeral had been postponed several times before the latest announcement by state television.
Authorities said the burial would take place at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.
A period of national mourning has also been declared to accompany the funeral events.
Funeral processions for Khamenei are expected to pass through at least three major cities, Tehran, Qom and Mashhad. Each procession is expected to last at least 24 hours, in line with Khamenei’s will.
Iranian authorities are reportedly preparing for up to 20 million people to attend ceremonies across multiple cities.
Khamenei served as Iran’s Supreme Leader for 37 years. He assumed office in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Meanwhile, Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei.
The decision was announced by Iran’s powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, which said Mojtaba Khamenei emerged after what it described as a “decisive vote.”
The clerical body called on citizens, “especially the elites and intellectuals of the seminaries and universities,” to pledge allegiance to the new leadership and support the stability of the Islamic Republic.
