TEHRAN, Iran — Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, a prominent figure in Iran, appeared in public after months at a service for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photographs released by Iranian state media on Thursday night showed Vahidi attending a meeting about Khamenei’s funeral. The general was also seen alongside Khamenei’s casket at a smaller service held near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.
Officials from both local and international backgrounds passed by Khamenei’s coffin to pay their respects. On Friday morning, a large crowd gathered around the coffin, some in tears, to honor a leader who left a divided legacy. The funeral process is expected to demonstrate the regime’s strength following the challenges posed by assaults from the U.S. and Israel.
Images shared by The Associated Press and Getty Images depicted members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) kneeling outside Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque. Under Khamenei, the IRGC became influential in Iran’s military, political, and economic spheres.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly four decades, died at 86 alongside family members including his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild during an offensive on February 28. The attacks by the U.S. and Israel marked the beginning of the Iran war. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, wounded in the attack, became Iran’s new supreme leader in March. However, his current condition remains unknown as he has not yet appeared in public.
Tehran displayed photos of Khamenei from his early governance years to his final days on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will see a viewing of Khamenei’s coffin and prayers at the Grand Mosalla, with a funeral procession expected to fill Tehran’s streets on Monday.