The Leader’s body, along with those of his companions, was transferred to Tehran’s Grand Mosalla early Friday and placed in the main prayer hall ahead of a two-day public farewell ceremony.

Religious scholars and cultural figures from Indonesia and Afghanistan were among the first foreign guests to pay tribute. Representatives of Iran’s recognized religious minorities also attended the ceremony to honor the late Leader.

Senior officials and representatives from more than 30 countries, including Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Georgia and Cuba, have arrived in Iran to attend the funeral ceremonies following the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike during the opening day of the recent 40-day war.

The public farewell, beginning Friday, follows a private ceremony held Thursday evening. Families of those killed in the recent war and relatives of staff members from the Leader’s office gathered to bid farewell to the late Leader.

President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Iranians from all backgrounds to take part in the funeral ceremonies.

“As heroic Iran prepares to bid farewell to the sincere servant of Islam and the Revolution, I invite all people, regardless of ethnicity, religion, political taste or orientation, to participate with enthusiasm, dignity and in historic numbers, demonstrating a lasting image of national unity and loyalty to the lofty ideals of the Islamic establishment,” he wrote in a message posted on X.

The multi-day funeral is expected to draw between 15 and 20 million mourners, according to Iranian officials.

Ceremonies will continue on Saturday and Sunday with the body lying in state at the Grand Mosalla before a funeral procession through Tehran on Monday. Further rites are scheduled in the holy city of Qom, followed by ceremonies in Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf in Iraq, before burial in Mashhad on July 9.

DID