While grieving, Iran is sending a message with its funeral for the supreme leader who was killed in US-Israeli airstrike in February. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's body was placed in Tehran's Grand Mosalla mosque on Friday, the start of six days of ceremonies that authorities say could draw as many as 20 million mourners and serve as a show of resistance to the US and its allies, the Wall Street Journal reports. The body of Khamenei, who was killed along with several family members, lies in one of five flag-draped coffins, including one for his 1-year-old granddaughter. Dignitaries from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, India, and other nations have arrived to pay their respects.
Tehran's partial airspace closure underscores security concerns as the casket embarks on a multicity route—Tehran, Qom, then Iraq's Najaf, and Karbala—before burial Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad. With Iran still dealing with a fragile ceasefire with the US and internal pressure over stalled sanctions relief, supporters praise Khamenei's emphasis on military self-reliance. Others argue his rule was defined by decades of repression and economic crisis. Still, the New York Times points out, the ceremonies are projecting stability and unity to the world. Khamenei will be remembered for his work to strengthen Iran's sovereignty and military capabilities, said a woman in Tehran, per the Journal. "His political legacy is Iran-centrism and resistance against the world's major powers, in the sense that we should decide our own future ourselves," she said.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
