The body of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei arrives in Qom | Story

Tens of thousands of people in the country have come over the past three days to pay tribute to his leadership after he was killed in a US-Israeli attack on the first day of the war.

The body of the late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has arrived in the holy city of Qom. a planned trip On Tuesday, state television said.

State TV showed footage of a helicopter carrying Khamenei’s body landing in a city south of the capital Tehran.

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Earlier, many Iranians filled the streets of the capital for the third consecutive day of mourning.

A car carrying the bodies of Khamenei and four family members who were killed in a US-Israeli attack on February 28 entered Azadi Square in the western part of the city.

State TV showed crowds lining Tehran’s main square and said millions had turned out for the ceremony, which was similar to the funeral of Khamenei, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

Dressed in black, mourners threw stones at coffins, including a small coffin belonging to Khamenei’s grandson, who was just 14 months old when he was killed, according to state media.

“The United States and Israel want to divide Iran. But our leader prevented the division. Iranians are here to appreciate what he has done for Iran,” a man identified only as Hamid told Al Jazeera.

Another mourner, Marzieh, said she showed respect for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 40 years.

“We came here to tell our leader who was killed for his faith that his blood will not be wasted, we came here to renew our loyalty,” he said.

Mojtaba is not there

There was no sign of Khamenei’s successor and his son, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since before his inauguration a week after his father’s death.

Mohammad Eslami, a researcher at Tehran University, said he could not attend his father’s funeral because “the war is not over”.

“There is a very difficult relationship between Iran and the United States and Israel. At the moment they are talking about the most difficult topics to discuss,” said Eslami. “With their security arrangements, there is no chance for them to be seen in public.”

The ceremony will culminate on Thursday when Khamenei is buried in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

The head of emergency services, Jafar Miadfar, told the IRNA news agency that “more than 34,000 participants have received medical and emergency care” with no deaths recorded.

‘A clear message’

President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was among the mourners, wrote on X that “today we will continue the path of honor, progress and glory of Iran”.

Other VIPs in attendance included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Chief Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani.

State TV also showed the head of Iran’s national security agency, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, making his first public appearance after his predecessor, Ali Larijani, was killed in a March airstrike.

“The presence of millions of people with red flags and words to kill them is a clear message from Iran to its enemies,” Iranian media quoted him as saying.

Among the participants was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran from 2005 to 2013.

He fell out with Khamenei at the end of his presidency and has not been seen since the war began.