Iran and Iraq plan slain ayatollah’s funeral arrangements

Iranian authorities are expecting huge crowds of up to 20 million people at mourning ceremonies and the burial of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike in late February.

The ceremonies are set to begin on July 4 in Tehran and the pilgrimage city of Qom. The burial is to take place on July 9 in Khamenei’s birth city of Mashhad in the northeast of the country, Mehr news agency reported, citing unnamed officials.

Authorities are working with the police and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to ensure a smooth running of events, according to Mehr.

A ceremony is also reportedly planned at a Shia shrine in Karbala, Iraq; however, this has not yet been confirmed.

Khamenei was 86 when he was killed at his official residence in Tehran during the first wave of Israeli and US attacks on February 28. His funeral was originally scheduled for much earlier, but was repeatedly postponed for security reasons, partly because the entire political leadership would be in attendance.

- Al Jazeera