Iranian officials are reportedly “too afraid” to hold an elaborate funeral service for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel.
Tehran is yet to determine the burial site for Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, which triggered a war that spilt into the wider Middle East region. Follow US-Iran war news live updates
In 1989, when Iran held a days-long funeral for Ali Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, millions of Iranians swarmed the streets of Tehran in mourning. However, such a view couldn’t be seen for Ali Khamenei in the wake of the US-Iran war.
‘Too afraid, too weak’
Behnam Taleblu from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told The New York Post that Iran is in no position to hold an elaborate memorial service as the war is currently in the middle of an uncertain truce — which is also set to end on Wednesday.
“Simply put, the regime is too afraid and too weak to roll the dice,” he said.
Not to forget, several senior Iranian officials, including the country’s security chief Ali Larijani, have been assassinated in the US-Israeli strikes during the past weeks of the war.
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Taleblu recalled the 1989 funeral of Ruhollah Khomenei, and said Iran’s inability to hold a funeral even after over a month has passed since Ali Khamenei’s death “speaks volumes”.
“The Islamic Republic likes to talk a big game about owning the streets, but a 50-day internet blackout tells you all you need to know. The regime fears the consequences of the truth getting out,” Taleblu was quoted as saying.
Earlier in March, IRGC-affiliated Fars News reported that Ali Khamenei’s body would be buried in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
“Officials at the headquarters organising the grand farewell ceremony for him are planning to hold a public memorial in the capital,” the report stated.
Mashhad, a city of nearly five million, is Khamenei’s hometown.
Days after Ali Khamenei’s assassination, Iran announced a three-day farewell for the slain Supreme Leader. Iranian media had reported that the ceremony would be held at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini prayer ground.
State media had cited Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Council, to say that the farewell ceremony would continue for three days, adding that a funeral procession will be announced later. However, no such memorial service took place.
Where the US-Iran war stands today?
Iran and the United States are currently in the middle of a two-week ceasefire, which will end on Wednesday. Following a round of failed negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, no date has yet been announced for a fresh round of talks between Tehran and Washington.
Earlier on Saturday, US President Donald Trump implied that the war with Iran could resume if no deal is reached by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insists on the country’s nuclear rights as he slammed Trump, saying that he has no justification to deprive Tehran of its nuclear rights.
