Massive crowds poured into the streets of the city of Qom, south of Tehran, on Tuesday, marking the fourth day of the funeral ceremonies for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a day after millions participated in his farewell procession in the Iranian capital.
اضافة اعلان
The coffin of Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, was placed in the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, a city that hosts the most prominent Shiite religious seminaries and a large number of shrines and sanctuaries.
Aerial footage broadcast by state television showed the streets of the city, which has a population of about 1.5 million people, packed with participants in the ceremony.
During the prayer led by 93-year-old Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, a massive crowd chanted in unison, "Death to America!", a slogan commonly raised during official events in Iran.
Other footage showed people, including turbaned clerics, paying their final respects at the coffin of Khamenei alongside the coffins of several family members who died with him, including his 14-month-old granddaughter, according to Iranian authorities.
On Monday, massive crowds of Iranians had taken to the streets of Tehran to participate in a farewell funeral procession for Khamenei, in ceremonies intended by authorities to be a display of strength and unity, following six months of popular protests against the government and rising living costs.
The scenes of the massive crowds in the streets of Tehran recalled the farewell of Khomeini in 1989.
The funeral procession is scheduled to head to Iraq on Tuesday before returning to Iran, where he will be laid to rest on July 9 in his birthplace, the northeastern city of Mashhad.
AFP
