Iran is preparing for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
Funeral Preparations
State television showed people rallying at night in various Iranian cities, chanting slogans in support of the country’s theocracy and against America and Israel. The government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin sat at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla alongside family members killed in the Israeli airstrike that came in the first moments of the war on Feb. 28. The dead being honored include a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous leader who remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack.
International Tensions
Iran’s joint military command warned Israel and the U.S. to avoid any miscalculation over the coming days. The warning comes as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
