Iran begins funeral rites for Ayatollah Khamenei

The Leader’s body, along with those of his companions, was transferred to Tehran’s Grand Mosalla early Friday and placed in the main prayer hall ahead of a two-day public farewell ceremony.

Representatives from Islamic centers, civic groups, and antiwar and anti-hegemony movements from several European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, and Austria, have traveled to Tehran to attend or provide media coverage of the ceremony.

Ceremonies will continue on Saturday and Sunday with the body lying in state at the Grand Mosalla before a funeral procession through Tehran on Monday. Further rites are scheduled in the holy city of Qom, followed by ceremonies in Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf in Iraq, before burial in Mashhad on July 9.