MASHHAD, July 9. /TASS/. The funeral procession of the deceased supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei stretched for several kilometers towards the mausoleum of Imam Reza in his hometown of Mashhad, where he will be buried, a TASS correspondent reports.
Many Iranians who came to the Shiite shrine at night did not leave the central square of Mashhad. Some of them posted up right next to the walls of the mausoleum.
The funeral procession with the body moved along the main street of Mashhad, Imam Reza, towards the burial place. Iranians are carrying red flags, portraits of Khamenei, and many are shouting the slogan "Death to America, death to Israel!" Whole families of pilgrims came to the ceremony - with children, parents, grandparents. Water cannons are installed all along the funeral procession to mitigate the scorching heat.
Hundreds of journalists from all over the world, including from Western countries, arrived to cover the farewell ceremony for Khamenei. The authorities provided them with special platforms on the roofs of some hotels for high-quality photo and video shooting.
The farewell ceremony for Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28 as a result of American and Israeli strikes, began in Tehran on July 3, with high-ranking delegations from at least 100 countries taking part.
From July 4-5, the ayatollah's body stayed in the Mosalla of Tehran, the largest religious and public complex in the Iranian capital.
On July 6, a funeral procession marched along the main streets of Tehran, after which the body was taken to the main religious center of Iran, the city of Qom, where funeral ceremonies were held on July 7. That evening, Khamenei's body was sent to Iraq, where separate farewell ceremonies were organized for local Shiite Muslims in Najaf and Karbala.