Iran Plans 3-Day Funeral for Late Supreme Leader -

Iran said on Tuesday it will hold a three-day state funeral for late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed by US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the Middle East war, at a date to be announced.

Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for nearly 37 years, was killed in his home in central Tehran on February 28.

A state funeral initially planned for March 4 was postponed due to the war.

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“A three-day public funeral is planned,” Tehran Deputy Mayor Mohammad Amin Tavakolizadeh was quoted as saying by state television on Tuesday.

Tavakolizadeh did not specify when the funeral would take place but said it could be in early Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which falls in mid-June.

He said funeral events would take place in Tehran, as well as in the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, where Khamenei would be buried.

“In Tehran, the ceremony will last at least 24 hours,” Tavakolizadeh stated, adding that up to 20 million people are expected to attend.

READ ALSO: Iran Accuses US Of Breaking Truce After New Strikes

Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for more than three decades, was killed in the first wave of US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28.

His son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei was also wounded in the attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office.

An event paying tribute to the elder Khamenei was organized in April, but a state funeral that was initially announced could not be held because of the war.

State TV, citing Mahmoudi, said, “Different organizations are working to provide the necessary conditions so that, once officially announced, a ‘grand’ ceremony can be held.”

“Widespread attendance” was expected, according to the report.

Though a ceasefire has largely held since coming into effect in April, a deal to definitively end the conflict has proven elusive.