TEHRAN: Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday to attend the funeral prayers of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the first day of the war.
Upon arrival, he was received by Iran’s Defence Minister Seyyed Majid Ibn Reza, the interior minister, and other senior civilian and military officials. His visit comes amid high-level Pakistani participation in the funeral ceremonies taking place in Iran.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also departed from Islamabad on a one-day visit to Iran to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. He is accompanied by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
According to the PMO, the prime minister will convey condolences to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved family on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, and reaffirm Pakistan’s solidarity with Iran. After the Tehran visit, he is expected to travel onward to Istanbul for a bilateral visit to Türkiye.
Iran’s state arrangements for the funeral include processions beginning on July 4 in Tehran and continuing until July 9, when burial is scheduled in the deceased leader’s hometown of Mashhad. Additional ceremonies are also planned in Qom as well as in Iraq.
Iranian authorities have laid out an extensive mourning schedule, with the body of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei lying in state in a large hall in Tehran where clerics, officials, foreign dignitaries, and mourners have been paying respects after his long rule.
Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani also arrived in Tehran with a high-level delegation to attend the funeral prayers and burial. Iranian officials reportedly received the Pakistani delegation upon arrival, reflecting broad international participation in the ceremonies.
State media described large gatherings as the body of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was displayed in a major prayer hall, where mourners, clerics, and officials paid tribute. The funeral rites are being conducted over several days, with the body later planned to be transported across multiple holy sites.
Khamenei’s coffin was placed in a vast prayer hall built in honour of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, while delegations from several countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as representatives from Russia and China, were expected to attend. Senior regional and international figures, including Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, also arrived in Tehran for the ceremonies.
Iran has framed the funeral as a major national and religious event, with authorities mobilising large crowds, tightening security across Tehran, and issuing warnings to the United States and Israel against any disruption during the mourning period.
According to accounts from the ceremonies, the coffin was carried through crowds of mourners and placed in the prayer hall amid religious chants and displays of grief. Officials described the gathering as a demonstration of public devotion and national unity.
The funeral comes at a sensitive political moment for Iran, where leadership change and internal pressures are being closely watched. Analysts cited in reports note that despite official displays of unity, the country faces ongoing economic strain due to sanctions and periodic domestic unrest.
Security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij volunteer units, have been deployed across Tehran to manage crowds and maintain order as funeral events continue.
Iran’s leadership has organised a multi-city procession route for the burial rites. After Tehran ceremonies, the body is expected to be taken to Qom, then onward to Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, before final burial in Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza.
Officials have arranged nationwide logistics for the large-scale mourning events, including transport services, accommodation for mourners, and public facilities to accommodate crowds expected to attend the processions across Iran and Iraq.