Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran on Saturday to mourn the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who died in a US-Israeli strike in February — as America celebrated its 250th birthday half a world away.
The crowds are projected to be the largest since Iranians took to the streets in December and January to protest living conditions in the country.
Iranian authorities were expecting as many as 10 million to 15 million to take part in the multi-day memorial ceremonies honoring Khamenei.
Officials who were “afraid and weak”delayed services for months due to security concerns, experts said.
The ceremonies coincide with July 4th celebrations in the US — amid the fragile peace talks over a deal to end the 109-day Iran war.
President Donald Trump said the US gave Iran “the week” off as it commenced the mourning period for Khamenei.
“We knocked the hell out of Iran and they’re dying to settle,” Trump said during a speech at Mount Rushmore Friday night. “We gave them a week off for a funeral, isn’t that nice.”
State funeral services were set to begin in the prayer hall of Imam Khomenei — the founder of the Islamic Republic in 1979 — before a funeral procession will leave on July 6. Dozens died in stampedes at Khomenei’s 1989 funeral, where as many as 10 million people gathered.
Khamenei was appointed Supreme Leader after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
He helped form the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, which hold enormous sway in Iran and are credited with orchestrating attacks on its neighbors and funding terror proxy groups abroad.
A state newspaper carried threats against the USin his name as recently as Monday.
Another service is set for July 7 in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, with a burial set for July 9 in Khamenei’s hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.
Khamenei will be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza, a holy place for Shiite Muslims.
Huge banners of Khamenei could be seen in the days leading up to the funeral at the sprawling Grand Mosalla in Tehran, home to the city’s Friday prayers.
Dozens of foreign leaders gathered on Friday, although the US did not send a representative.
Funeral services for Khamenei’s daughter and son-in-law, who were also killed with him in the deadly Feb. 28 strike, were scheduled to coincide with his.
After Khamenei’s death, Iran has been ruled by his wounded and disfigured son Mojtaba Khamenei, whom President Trump called “more rational” than his father.
It wasn’t known whether the Supreme Leader, who has not been seen in public since assuming power, would attend the funeral rites.
Khamenei’s rule included violent crackdowns that killed thousands of Iranians in the last year, and the development of a series of secret underground nuclear facilities.
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