Up, Up and Away — to the Grave? Iran Floats Flying Funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei

(Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP photo)

Iranian authorities are contemplating holding an “airborne funeral procession” for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a Saturday report.

Khamenei, 86, was killed at his home on Feb. 28 as the United States and Israel launched “Operation Epic Fury” on Iran. The conflict raged for four months before the U.S. and Iran entered an uneasy ceasefire two weeks ago.

Roughly 20 million people are expected to attend the extended, six-day funeral ceremonies for the Iranian leader, according to The New York Times.

The funeral is set to begin July 4 with a 24-hour funeral ceremony in Tehran, The Times reported.

The procession is expected to conclude July 9 in Khamenei’s hometown of Masshad, where he is to be buried, Iran International reported.

Details on the proposed flying funeral for Khamenei were scant. The unusual discussions for Khamenei’s final farewell, which were originally slated for March but delayed for months by the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, were sparked by concerns over security and crowding, the outlet reported:

Authorities are considering holding slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession airborne to reduce crowding and improve security, the governor of Razavi Khorasan province said on Saturday.

Gholamhossein Mozaffari said the proposal, put forward by the provincial security council, was likely to be implemented because it would ease crowd management and provide safer conditions.

Officials have announced that Khamenei is due to be buried in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9.

In addition to Tehran and Masshad, the funeral procession is also set to visit the city of Qom, according to Al-Jazeera.

Khamenei, whose son Mojtaba reportedly took over as Supreme Leader but has rarely been seen since taking command, is expected to be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine in Masshad.

Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly suffered seriously leg and disfiguring facial injuries in the airstrike which killed his father, Reuters reported.

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