Funeral Service for Martyred Leader to Be Held in Iraq

In comments at a press conference on Monday, Iman Attarzadeh, spokesperson for the committee in charge of commemorating the ascension of the martyred Leader, announced details of the funeral and burial arrangements for Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

He said the people of Iran and all supporters of the school of resistance and the martyred Leader should know that preparations for holding the funeral ceremony and even executive measures for organizing the event at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Musalla (grand prayer hall) had begun in the very first days after the martyrdom of the Leader.

However, Attarzadeh said the ceremony had been postponed because of wartime conditions and the “savage aggression of the American-Zionist enemy” against Iran, adding that protecting the health, security and safety of the people had remained the highest priority for the Leader’s office and organizers.

He further stated that for the farewell, funeral and burial ceremonies of the martyred Leader, the slogan “We Must Rise” and the symbol of a “clenched fist” have been selected.

According to the spokesperson, the official ceremonies for bidding farewell to, mourning, and burying Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei will begin on Saturday, July 4, corresponding to the 19th of Muharram.

He said a two-day farewell ceremony for the Leader’s body will be held at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Musalla.

He added that funeral prayers over the body of the late Leader will be performed in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad, noting that the funeral procession in Tehran will take place on Monday, July 6.

The spokesperson also announced that the funeral processions in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad will include four members of the late Leader’s family who were martyred alongside him in the enemy’s attack, namely Dr. Mesbah al-Hoda (the Leader’s son-in-law), Seyed Boshra Hosseini Khamenei (the Leader’s daughter), Zahra Haddad Adel (the daughter-in-law of the late Leader), and Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani (his granddaughter).

He noted that funeral ceremonies in the city of Qom will be held on Tuesday, July 7, where funeral prayers for the late Leader will also be performed.

He further announced that on July 8, following repeated requests from the Iraqi people, tribes, religious scholars, elites and political, cultural and religious figures to host the late Leader and hold funeral ceremonies in Iraq, ceremonies will be held in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. He said Iraqi government authorities will later announce the exact timing and locations.

Attarzadeh added that on Thursday, July 9, corresponding to the 24th of Muharram, another funeral procession for the late Leader and members of his family will be held in the holy city of Mashhad.

Following the ceremonies, he said, the burial of the late Leader of the Islamic Revolution will take place on the eve of the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Sajjad (AS) --an ancestor of Ayatollah Khamenei-- and the body will be laid to rest at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad.

The spokesperson also announced another planned event as part of the funeral arrangements, saying official delegations from various countries, political figures, elites, and scientific and religious personalities from around the world will be invited to pay tribute.

He said the program will include current and former political figures, government officials, cultural, scientific and religious personalities, as well as resistance and movement figures, adding that details and the level of participating delegations will be announced to the Iranian nation in the coming days.