Khamenei's body arrives in holy city of Qom

The body of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been taken to the holy city of Qom. The helicopter carrying his body arrived in Qom on Monday evening, July 6, after a massive funeral procession attended by millions on the streets of Tehran earlier that day.

As part of the six-day state funeral, thousands of ordinary citizens and senior officials flooded the main streets of Tehran on Monday morning. A truck carrying the coffins of Khamenei and his family members slowly moved towards Azadi Square in western Tehran.

State television reported that millions participated in the event, which is being compared to the massive funeral of Khamenei's predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

Broadcasters showed mourners showering Khamenei's coffin with flower petals as a final tribute. Among the victims was Khamenei's 14-month-old granddaughter, whose small coffin moved everyone present to tears.

Following the programmes on July 6 and 7, the next mourning procession is scheduled for July 8 in the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Melika Noorian, 23, a university student who took part in the procession, said, "I am here with great pride to show the world how much we loved him and how committed we are to the Islamic Republic."

A 63-year-old man identifying himself as Kazemi said, "We will take revenge for the blood of our martyrs and our martyred imam from these criminals."

Meanwhile, despite the third day of the six-day funeral ceremony, Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not yet been seen in public. He was appointed as the new supreme leader a week after his father's death but has not appeared publicly since.

Source: The Straits Times