Iran begins mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei under tight security

{"text":[[{"start":8.4,"text":"Iranian senior figures and foreign dignitaries paid their respects to slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday, as authorities tightened security in Tehran ahead of a six-day funeral marking the end of the rule of the Islamic republic’s most powerful figure.Iranian leaders including President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appeared together for the first time since the war at the ceremony, and met with foreign visitors on the sidelines."}],[{"start":36.7,"text":"Eight heads of government attended, including leaders from Iraq, Armenia and Tajikistan, according to Iran’s foreign ministry. Twelve parliamentary speakers and delegations from about 100 countries, including China, Turkey and Oman, attended. Iranian media said Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also heading to Tehran."}],[{"start":57.650000000000006,"text":"Authorities are preparing a vast display of mourning intended to project the standing of the 86-year-old leader, who ruled for nearly four decades before he was killed in February during the US-Israeli war on Iran."}],[{"start":71.2,"text":"Central Tehran was under tight security on Friday, with riot police, armoured vehicles and other security forces stationed along the main routes where mourners are expected to walk through as they make their way to the city’s Mosalla prayer complex on Saturday. Black banners, portraits of Khamenei and revolutionary and nationalist slogans have filled the city. "}],[{"start":92.80000000000001,"text":"State media, including Iranian radio, have broadcast public safety guidance advising mourners how to move through large crowds to reduce the risk of a stampede. They have also instructed people on how to protect themselves if they fall, including by lying on their side and shielding their head and face."}],[{"start":110.55000000000001,"text":"The most senior delegations to the ceremony came from neighbouring and regional states. Representatives of Iran’s allied militant groups — the so-called axis of resistance, including Lebanon’s Hizbollah and Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi — also attended, according to local media."}],[{"start":127.00000000000001,"text":"There were no reports of delegations from western countries or from Gulf Arab states that were targeted by Iranian retaliatory strikes during the US-Israeli war against Iran."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":137.3,"text":"Khamenei’s coffin, draped in an Iranian flag, was placed on display at the Mosalla complex alongside the coffins of four family members, including his daughter and his 14-month-old granddaughter, who were killed in the same attack. The complex will be opened to mourners on Saturday for two days."}],[{"start":156.70000000000002,"text":"A funeral procession is scheduled to cross Tehran from east to west on Monday before Khamenei’s body is taken to the Shia holy cities of Qom and two in Iraq. He is due to be buried on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in north-eastern Iran, home to one of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":176.50000000000003,"text":"A new grey sculpture depicting Khamenei’s clenched fist has been installed in Enghelab Square, one of Tehran’s principal public spaces and a symbol of Iran’s 1979 revolution. The sculpture prominently features the distinctive ring with a single brown stone that he wore throughout his leadership."}],[{"start":194.55000000000004,"text":"Banners across the capital bore the funeral’s main slogan, “We should rise up”, alongside supporting messages. One read, “For a bright future”; another said, “A stronger Iran”; while a third called for revenge for “the blood of children” — an apparent reference to civilians, particularly children, killed during the war."}],[{"start":214.95000000000005,"text":"It remains unclear who will lead the main funeral prayers on Sunday morning. Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader’s son and successor, has not appeared in public since the war began. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":226.05000000000004,"text":"Iranian officials are expected to appoint a senior cleric from Qom to lead the ceremony, although no official details have been released. Senior state officials are also expected to attend, but state media has provided few details of the arrangements, underscoring heightened security concerns."}],[{"start":243.25000000000003,"text":"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Friday against any “miscalculations” by Iran’s enemies, saying this would be met with “a response more crushing than ever before”."}],[{"start":253.55000000000004,"text":"Its commander, Major General Ahmad Vahidi, made his first public appearance since the war on Thursday evening, attending meetings with officials overseeing the funeral arrangements. State television also showed him at a private ceremony as Khamenei’s coffin was carried into a hall close to where the supreme leader had previously held public meetings."}],[{"start":283.15000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783081583_9279.mp3"}