Coffin of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei arrives in Tehran for farewell ceremony

The coffin of the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli attack, has been brought to a farewell ceremony in the capital, Tehran, with international delegates set to participate in the ceremony.

The ceremony on Friday is being attended by thousands of family members of those killed in US-Israeli war on Iran, who gathered to mourn near the site of the commemoration.

Khamenei was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, an event that triggered weeks of war and heightened tensions across Middle East.

According to the announced funeral schedule, an official memorial ceremony for Khamenei will be held on Friday, with the participation of heads of state, senior officials and religious leaders.

Leaders, senior officials or representatives from more than 30 countries, including Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Georgia and Cuba will attend the ceremony, Iranian media reported.

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.

Photos published online by Iranian state media showed General Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket.

Vahidi, who leads Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, 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 Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly after being reportedly wounded in the February 28 US-Israeli attacks that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.

Vahidi himself has not been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the war began.

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