First namaj-e-janaja for Ali Khamenei held with participation of millions

The first funeral prayer for Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, was held in Tehran on Sunday (July 5), with millions of mourners in attendance. The prayer took place at 6:00 a.m. local time at Tehran's Grand Mosalla and was led by Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani.

According to the state-run news agency IRNA, the funeral prayer was held on the second day of a six-day national mourning and farewell program for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ceremony at the Grand Mosalla was attended by members of his family and led by Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani.

The bodies of Ali Khamenei, his son-in-law Mesbah-ol-Hoda Bagheri, his eldest daughter Seyyedeh Boshra Hosseini Khamenei, his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad Adel, and his 14-month-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani were placed together during the funeral ceremony.

Among those attending the funeral prayer were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with senior government officials and military leaders. Diplomats, politicians, and prominent figures from at least 70 countries also attended, in addition to millions of ordinary Iranians.

Large numbers of mourners also arrived from neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq through border crossings to participate in the funeral.

According to the published schedule, the third day of the six-day farewell program will feature another funeral prayer in the holy city of Qom, to be led by Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi. The final funeral prayer will be held in Mashhad under the leadership of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani.

As part of the remaining funeral rites, Khamenei's body will be taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before being returned to Mashhad for burial.

International media reports note that the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, remains the largest funeral procession in history relative to population size and is recognized by Guinness World Records. More than 10 million people reportedly lined a 32-kilometre route in Tehran. Iranian officials now expect Ali Khamenei's funeral to draw as many as 20 million participants, potentially setting a new historical record.