Larger crowd than Soleimani’s last visit: Anti-Trump slogans raised in Tehran; Know when Iran Supreme Ayatollah will be laid to rest
Tehran. On Monday, a crowd of mourners dressed in black gathered for the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran’s capital Tehran. During this, the entire atmosphere echoed with anti-America and Israel slogans. People were raising slogans against US President Donald Trump and shouting ‘Down with Trump’.
Display of strength with coffins, family members also died in air strike
The coffin of 86-year-old Khamenei, draped in Iran’s national flag, was placed in a special truck. In the same truck, the coffins of those family members who were killed in the Israeli and American air strikes at the beginning of the war on February 28 were also kept. Iran’s religious regime has encouraged this massive gathering as a demonstration of its power on the global stage.
Larger crowd than Soleimani’s last visit, officials worried about security
According to scenes broadcast on Iranian state television, only people’s heads were visible for several kilometers from Tehran’s Azadi Square to the street of the same name. This crowd appeared bigger than the crowd gathered at the funeral of late General Qasim Sulemani in the year 2020, in which more than 10 lakh people had participated.
However, the authorities have not released any official figure of the crowd this time. People present on the final procession route were carrying placards, posters and banners on which slogans demanding Trump’s death were written. Messages demanding the assassination of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be clearly seen in the hands of the mourners.
The condition of the crowd was such that people were moving forward to touch the truck and let their scarves and other items touch the coffin. In view of the security, the officials appeared very worried and through loudspeakers people were appealed to walk slowly and not to push. The officials had given the truck the shape of a traditional decorative lattice made around the Imam’s shrine.
12 hours journey and preparation for cremation in Mashhad
Revolutionary Guard General Hassan Hassanzadeh, who is overseeing the funeral procession, said the coffins would be taken through the streets of Tehran to Mehrabad International Airport during a 12-hour journey. Expressing her feelings, Fatima Hasan, a woman who participated in the funeral procession, said, “Today we have come to attend the last rites of our leader. This is a very painful day for us. We have not come here to bid him a last farewell, but to take revenge. And we will take this revenge.”
Normal life affected, talks with America likely to be postponed
In view of the mourning, the authorities have closed major roads in Tehran and imposed strict restrictions on airspace, due to which normal life has been completely affected. The national mourning, which began on Saturday, will end on Thursday, after which Khamenei will be laid to rest at the Imam Reza Dargah in his birthplace, Mashhad. Meanwhile, efforts are underway between the US and Iran to advance crucial talks aimed at fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz, limiting Iran’s disputed nuclear program and permanently ending the war. However, diplomatic circles believe that these talks will be postponed till the last rites are completed.
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