A sea of people poured onto the streets of Tehran on Monday to salute the funeral procession of the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, on the third day of a national funeral designed as a demonstration of strength and unity.
AFP images capture streets filled with people in black, the lines stretching for several kilometers. The Iranian state television estimated the number of participants at several million, the event being compared to the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.
The coffin of Ali Khamenei, who led the state for over 30 years until his death at the age of 86, was first displayed in public for two days at the Grand Mosalla – a religious and political place in Tehran.
The procession took place in Tehran on Monday, the coffin being covered with flowers and the emblematic black turban of the supreme leader, flags, slogans, and posters demanding the “head” of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The event lasted from 10:00 local time until 12:00, over a course of 20 kilometers. The airspace was completely closed on this day, declared free, reports news.ro.
The discovered truck, which was transporting the remains of Khamenei and his associates, was escorted on foot by security forces to avoid any incident.
According to the official Iranian news agency Irna, ten million people are said to have participated in the procession, and the stampedes in the crowd resulted in over ten deaths and 10,000 injuries.
After the procession, the coffin is set to make a stopover in Qom, and then at shrines in Iraq, where a large Shiite community resides. The burial will take place on Thursday, in the holy place of Mashhad in northeastern Iran. This is where Ali Khamenei originates from.
Photo: Al Jazeera
Photo: AP