Tehran: Preparations are underway in Iran to bid farewell to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He will be buried on July 9. But amidst these preparations, thousands of graves are also being dug by the Iranian government. Iranian authorities have launched this work as part of emergency plans in view of the possibility of 1,500 to 3,000 people dying during the funeral procession that could last for several days.
Preparation due to possibility of accident
While Iran is trying to maintain peace during Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremony, officials are also preparing for the possibility of a major disaster that could kill thousands of people. According to reports, authorities have created a special unit to deal with possible deaths and missing people, while thousands of new graves have been prepared in Tehran’s ‘Behisht-e Zahra’ cemetery.
Report of German newspaper ‘De Welt’
This is being done so that in case of any accident or attack due to huge crowd, if more people die, they can be buried easily. German newspaper ‘De Welt’ has mentioned this in one of its reports. Under emergency arrangements, 2 thousand to 3 thousand graves are being dug. The Iran administration fears that in case of any accident, two to three thousand people may die.
Khamenei will be buried on July 9
According to the report of the German newspaper, such preparations are going on in the Behast-e-Zahra cemetery of Tehran. An employee of Tehran Municipal Corporation has confirmed this preparation. He says that such graves have been dug in order to prepare to deal with any situation. Khamenei’s funeral procession began in Tehran on Saturday and will travel through the holy city of Qom to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. The ceremonies are expected to end on Thursday in ‘Mashhad’, where he will be buried.
Accidents have happened during funerals
According to the German newspaper ‘De Welt’, authorities plan to impose restrictions on movement across Tehran, thousands of buses to transport mourners, makeshift kitchens to feed the crowds and converting schools and mosques into accommodation for visitors. The scale of these preparations reflects the fear that large crowds and rising heat could combine to rapidly create dangerous conditions. Tragedies have happened during funerals in Iran before.
56 people died in the funeral of Qasim Sulemani
In 2020, at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured in a stampede during the funeral of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in Kerman. Decades before this, there was chaos during the funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, in which at least eight people died and hundreds were injured.
Keep an eye on potential security threats
In addition to the danger of being crushed by a crowd, Iranian officials are also preparing for potential security threats. Before the funeral, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned against any attempts to target Iran during the ceremony. The warning came after Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly said that Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “targeted for death”.
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