Iran postpones state funeral for Khamenei, citing expected turnout, not security situation

Iran announces that a state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which had been planned for this evening in Tehran, has been postponed “in anticipation of unprecedented turnout,” state television reports.

“The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later,” Iranian television reports after Khamenei was killed at 86 in US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.

This morning, authorities had said a tribute would take place this evening in Tehran before Khamenei’s body is buried in the holy city of Mashhad, where he was from.

Strikes have pummelled Tehran since Saturday, with missiles targeting military and government infrastructure.

Authorities do not link the postponement to the security situation.

It is partly down to “the expected participation of millions of people and the need to provide the proper infrastructure” for such a crowd, Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran’s Islamic Development Coordination Council, the body organizing the event, tells state TV.