Millions of mourners from Iran and other countries performed funeral prayers for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on Sunday as Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led the prayers at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, attended by large crowds of people.
As the interior of the prayer hall reached full capacity, all entrances to the complex were closed several hours prior to the prayer service held for the body of the martyred Leader.
The streets and pathways surrounding the prayer hall were filled with a significant number of individuals who have gathered to pay their respects and offer prayers for martyred Ayatollah Khamenei.
The funeral prayer was held in three stages. The first was offered for the martyred Leader. The second covered Martyr Seyyedeh Boshra Hosseini Khamenei, Martyr Mesbah al-Hoda Baqeri, and Martyr Zahra Haddad Adel, while the third will be offered for Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, the martyred Leader’s granddaughter.
The farewell ceremony began early Saturday at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla following the martyrdom of the Leader. The gathering has drawn massive crowds paying their final respects.
Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred following the launch of the latest bout of aggression by American-zionist forces against Iran on February 28.
Iran’s top security official said mourners attending the funeral of martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei en masse are united in their chants of “resistance against enemies” and “revenge for the blood” of the late Leader.
In a post on his X account on Sunday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr said the large crowds participating in the farewell and funeral ceremonies of the martyred Leader reflect the resilience and determination of the Iranian nation.
“Keep your eyes on Iran these days. This is the same Iran that you thought you could bring to its knees in just a few days,” he added.
The SNSC secretary described the vast crowds as a “roaring sea of people” who demand revenge for the blood of late Ayatollah Khamenei and resistance against adversaries.
“This roaring sea of people is now shouting two slogans during the farewell and funeral of their Leader: resistance against enemies and revenge for the blood of Iran’s martyred Leader,” he pointed out.
Zolqadr’s post comes as millions of mourners from Iran and other countries performed funeral prayers for the late Ayatollah Khamenei on Sunday. Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led the prayers at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla.
An Ansarallah member declared that the West assassinated the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, because of his leadership and efforts to support the liberation of Palestine.
During an interview on Sunday, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said Ayatollah Khamenei’s influence extended far beyond Iran’s borders.
He described the martyred Leader as a symbol of resistance and freedom for nations seeking independence from American and Zionist domination.
“His intellectual and political vision across the Islamic world, together with his efforts to liberate Palestine, were among the main reasons the West became determined to assassinate him,” al-Bukhaiti said.
He added that the martyred Leader’s legacy would continue to inspire people striving for dignity, sovereignty, and resistance, saying his name and memory would remain a source of inspiration for future generations.
Millions of Iranians and supporters of the Axis of Resistance across the region mourned his martyrdom, holding ceremonies and tributes in his honor.
Iran’s top Navy commander said the Axis of Resistance is no longer confined by geography, warning that the zionist regime and the United States will face a united Islamic front following the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Speaking to Yemen’s Al Masirah television, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said the followers of the martyred Leader have “gathered today to renew the bond of brotherhood and unity they learned from his teachings.”
“Resistance is no longer limited to geographical boundaries,” he said, warning that the enemy “must understand that today it is not confronting a single country, but the greater Islamic nation and the Islamic Resistance.”
Irani also warned that the zionist regime and its allies should brace for retaliation by Muslim fighters seeking to avenge those martyred in the US-zionist war against Iran, saying they would face “a crushing blow that will shatter them.”
He made the remarks on the sidelines of the farewell ceremony for Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday.
In separate remarks to the Yemeni broadcaster, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to the late Leader, called on Muslim nations and “all free peoples” of the world to stand together against the oppression of the United States and the Israeli regime.
Safavi said he was confident that unity among Muslim nations and the Axis of Resistance would strengthen the Islamic world and elevate it into one of the world’s major centers of power.
Iranian Army Commander Major General Amir Hatami said in a public address that the late Sayyed Khamenei “drew a path of dignity and independence, and prepared for us all the means to follow it,” adding that the armed forces “will continue the path behind our commander Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei with unwavering strength and determination.”
Hatami further pledged that the Iranian public “will not allow the enemies to escape punishment” and that “they will be held accountable for their crimes.”
Separately, Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the commander “will remain alive in our minds forever” and that Iranian forces “will follow his recommendations.”
Sayyari added that Iran had “made a pledge to remain with our martyred leader and we renew that pledge today,” stressing that “the idea of vengeance is always present in our minds.”
He also said, “We promise our commander Sayyed Mojtaba that we will continue the path with high confidence, strong will, and resistance.”
In another statement, Advisor to the Supreme Leader and Assistant to the President Mohammad Mokhber said that “those who killed our martyred Imam will not die a natural death” and vowed that “the people and the system will take revenge on them.”
Mokhber added, “We will take revenge for our martyred leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, inevitably.”