Top Iranian Officials Pay Final Tribute to Martyred Leader
Iran’s top state officials, including the heads of the three branches of government and the chairman of the Expediency Council, paid their final respects to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei during a farewell ceremony on Friday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, along with the chairman of the Expediency Council, attended the farewell ceremony on Friday and honored the sacred body of the martyred Leader at the Grand Musalla (prayer hall) of Tehran.
The senior officials commemorated the late Leader during the national farewell ceremony, joining thousands of mourners who gathered to pay tribute to Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
The ceremony is also being attended by international delegations that have arrived in Tehran to participate in the farewell and funeral events. Foreign officials, religious figures, and dignitaries from numerous countries have paid tribute to the martyred Leader upon their arrival.
The sacred body of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, along with the bodies of those martyred alongside him, was transferred earlier to the main prayer hall of Tehran’s Musalla, where it has been placed for public mourning and official farewell ceremonies.
Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred in a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026, at the outset of a 40-day war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The conflict witnessed steadfast national resistance and retaliatory operations by the Iranian Armed Forces that ultimately forced the aggressors to halt their military campaign.
His assassination prompted widespread condemnation from Iran and its allies, while millions of Iranians and supporters of the Axis of Resistance across the region have mourned his martyrdom.
Following the end of the war, Iranian authorities announced a series of farewell, funeral, and interment ceremonies across Iran and Iraq, allowing the Iranian people and supporters from abroad to pay their final respects. Preparations for the ceremonies had begun immediately after the Leader’s martyrdom but were postponed because of wartime conditions and the US-Israeli aggression, with public safety taking precedence.
Held under the slogan "We Must Rise" and symbolized by a clenched fist, the official ceremonies will begin on July 4 with a two-day farewell at Tehran’s Musalla. Funeral prayers and processions will continue in Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad, underscoring both the national and international stature of the late Leader.
The main funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for July 6, followed by ceremonies in Qom on July 7. At the request of Iraqi religious scholars, tribal leaders, political figures, and the public, additional funeral ceremonies will be held in the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala on July 8.
A final funeral procession will take place in the holy city of Mashhad on July 9, after which Ayatollah Khamenei will be laid to rest at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS).
The ceremonies will also honor four members of Ayatollah Khamenei’s family who were martyred alongside him in the US-Israeli attack: Dr. Mesbah al-Hoda, the Leader’s son-in-law; Seyed Boshra Hosseini Khamenei, his daughter; Zahra Haddad Adel, his daughter-in-law; and Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, his granddaughter.
Official delegations from numerous countries, alongside current and former political leaders, senior government officials, religious scholars, academics, cultural figures, and representatives of resistance movements, are taking part in the ceremonies, highlighting the international tribute to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
