Several foreign dignitaries have arrived in Iran as the country prepares for the funeral oflate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian state television reported on Friday.
Official representatives from China, Belarus, Iraq and Turkmenistan all landed in the Iranian capital ahead of the funeral, state TV footage showed.
An Indian delegation also arrived in Tehran on Friday, and paid its respects in front of Ayatollah Khamenei’s coffin in Tehran.
Official mourning starts Saturday
Official ceremonies mourning Khamenei’s death are set to begin on Saturday and end on Monday, with millions of Iranians expected to attend.
Khamenei’s coffin has already been laid out at the Grand Mosalla Mosque.
Other cities where Khamenei’s coffin will be taken to are Qom, a holy city for Shiite Muslims, as well as to Iraq, before his burial in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.
Iran’s airspace and many streets in the cities where the coffin will be displayed will be shut for several days for security reasons during the ceremonies.
IRGC figure seen in public for first time
As Iran prepares for the funeral, a high-ranking general from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was seen publicly for the first time in months.
General Ahmad Vahidi is one of those responsible for Iran’s tough stance in its negotiations with the US. Both countries have been locked in months-long discussions to end the war.
The last time he was seen in public was February 8, nearly three weeks before the US-Israeli strikes that marked the beginning of the Iran war.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
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