The week-long funeral ceremonies for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could turn out to be a mass-casualty incident. Iranian authorities are preparing for between 1,500 and 3,000 people to be killed, according to a report by German newspaper WELT, which cited a classified document and municipal sources. Track live updates here
The Iranian Red Crescent and the National Crisis Management Organization warned first vice president Mohammad-Reza Aref in a confidential letter that overcrowding and extreme summer heat could cause thousands of deaths during the funeral processions, as per the newspaper.
The claims could not be independently verified.
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Tehran has graves ready
Authorities have reportedly formed a special unit to deal with deaths and missing persons, as part of the contingency planning. Thousands of graves have been prepared at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
A Tehran municipal employee told WELT that colleagues at the city’s crisis headquarters confirmed the preparations.
“The prepared graves really exist,” she was quoted as saying. “Those responsible were told that up to 3,000 dead would be okay. With such a large crowd and this extreme heat, no one knows what will happen.”
The funeral ceremonies began in Tehran on Saturday and are expected to continue through Qom before moving to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in Mashhad on Thursday.
Massive security op
Iranian authorities are carrying out one of the country’s biggest logistical operations in recent years, the report said.
Plans include movement restrictions in Tehran, possible disruptions to air travel, deployment of thousands of buses, temporary kitchens, and the use of schools and mosques to accommodate mourners.
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Officials have reportedly suggested that attendance could reach 20 million people. Tehran Municipality, led by Mayor Alireza Zakani, has deployed around 11,000 buses while metro and bus rapid transit services are expected to operate around the clock during the ceremonies.
Past disasters
Previously, deadly crowd disasters at major state funerals were seen in Iran. In 2020, at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a crowd crush during the funeral of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, The Guardian reported back then. Soleimani was killed in a targeted US drone strike.
The 1989 funeral of the first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini also turned chaotic. At least eight people died and hundreds were injured, as per Iran International.
Most expensive funeral
Municipal employees told WELT that each district in Tehran had been allocated the equivalent of roughly €500,000 to €650,000 (about ₹5 crore to ₹6.5 crore) for the three-day events. This excludes funding for agencies such as the fire department, transport authorities, parks organisation and construction units.
Government-linked journalists cited by the newspaper estimated that Tehran alone could spend around €15 million (about ₹150 crore), with another €5 million each (about ₹50 crore each) allocated for ceremonies in Qom and Mashhad.
With additional events planned in Najaf and Karbala, WELT said the funeral could become one of the costliest state funerals in modern history.
