Tehran, Iran: Khamenei funeral preparations began at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Tuesday before Saturday’s public ceremony for Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Workers painted the venue, welded metal structures and used cranes to move construction material around the central Tehran complex. State television showed giant portraits of Khamenei hanging at the site.
Officials expect 15 million to 20 million mourners. State television urged mourners to use public transport and issued heat-safety messages before the ceremony.
An AFP journalist saw lane closures on major highways across Tehran as police deployed around the site.
Ali-Akbar Pourjamshidian, secretary of the funeral ceremony headquarters, said a separate event for foreign heads of state was scheduled for Friday.
Pourjamshidian said representatives from around 30 countries were expected to attend, with mourners also arriving from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Read: Funeral of Martyred Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei to Be Held after Ashura
Tehran, Qom and Mashhad will observe public holidays during the funeral and burial events. Authorities ordered public and private offices in Tehran to close from Saturday through Monday.
Khamenei’s body will later be taken to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq before burial on July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.
Pourjamshidian said any programme involving Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, would be announced by the Office of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
