As Iranian state television reported on Saturday, the funeral ceremonies will begin on July 4 in Tehran and end with the burial on July 9. Mourning in the capital will last from July 4 to 6, then on July 7 the celebrations will move to the holy city of Qom located in the north of the country. The cleric will be buried in Mashhad, the city he came from.
Funeral ceremonies will begin on US Independence Day. This year, Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of their country, which gives the chosen date an additional symbolic dimension in the context of the ongoing armed conflict.
Tensions between the US and Iran. Intensive diplomatic talks are ongoing
More than 100 days will pass from the ayatollah's death to the organization of the burial. Khamenei was killed on February 28 in airstrikes carried out by Israel and the US that started the current war in the Middle East. The hostilities were the main reason why the Iranian authorities repeatedly postponed the announced state funeral.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei served as Iran's supreme leader for over 30 years. He died at the age of 86, and the news of his death sparked reactions on the streets of Tehran that mixed disbelief, joy and mourning. The position of the spiritual and political head of the state was taken over by his son, also a clergyman, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Preparations for the ceremony are accompanied by intense diplomatic talks. The US and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28, and a ceasefire has been formally in force since April 8, although it remains fragile. During talks aimed at ending the conflict, the sides repeatedly exchanged gunfire, and clashes have visibly intensified in recent days. Despite the escalation, diplomacy brought concrete results.
On Friday, a high-ranking representative of the American administration informed journalists that the text of the preliminary agreement with Iran had already been agreed. He estimated the chances of its final signing at 80-85%.
