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Published : 04 Jul 2026, 04:50 PM
A tiny coffin holding the body of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's 14-month-old granddaughter has been placed alongside that of Iran's slain supreme leader at his funeral.
NDTV reported that the coffins of Khamenei's relatives lie at the Imam Khomeini Musalla in Tehran, with the small coffin of Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani placed beside a photograph of her.
Funeral proceedings began at the Musalla on Saturday morning local time.
Khamenei's coffin was brought in draped in the Iranian flag, his black turban resting on top.
He was killed at his residence on Feb 28, in the opening strikes of a joint US-Israeli attack, along with several family members.
State-run Tasnim News Agency said huge numbers of mourners from across Iran had reached Musalla hours before its doors opened.
The crowd was so large that organisers opened the gates during the dawn prayer call to let people into the complex.
Mourners carried Iranian flags and the clenched-fist symbol, alongside photographs of the late leader and his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, bidding farewell to one while pledging loyalty to the other.
Many chanted "Death to America" and cries of revenge.
One grieving mourner said he had come to bid farewell to his beloved leader, Ali Khamenei, adding that he never expected to see such a day and wished he had died before this tragedy.
The two-day farewell at the Musalla continues under the slogan “We must awaken”, alongside the clenched-fist symbol.
Mourning events will run for six days across five cities in two countries.
The main procession takes place in Tehran on Monday, when Khamenei's coffin will be carried alongside those of his daughter, Sayyeda Bushra Hosseini Khamenei; his son-in-law, Mesbah-ol-Hoda Baqeri; his daughter-in-law and wife of the current supreme leader, Zahra Haddad Adel; and his granddaughter, Zahra -- all killed in the same strike.
The body will then move to Qom, Iran's Shia religious hub, for funeral prayers and mourning on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the coffin travels to neighbouring Iraq, with processions and funeral prayers in Najaf and Karbala attended by senior leaders of allied Shia groups.
A final procession follows on Thursday in Mashhad, ending with burial at the shrine of Imam Reza.
