Khamenei body in cold storage as feared Basij mobilizes ahead of historic Iran funeral

Tehran is preparing for nan July 9 funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, much than 4 months aft his death, arsenic authorities mobilize nan Basij militia and equine a monolithic information cognition up of what is expected to beryllium a "historic" turnout.

The lengthy hold to nan ceremonial has raised questions astir really Khamenei's remains person been preserved, arsenic Islamic tradition, anaylsts say, mostly calls for punctual funeral and discourages chemic embalming.

"The system is almost surely refrigerated acold storage, not embalming, arsenic Islam bars chemic embalming," counterterrorism master Dr. Mohammed Omar told Fox News Digital.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei speaks successful Tehran, Iran, connected Jan 3. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Shia rule allows delayed funeral and preservation by acold successful exceptional cases, and a clerical exemption for a Supreme Leader is easy to get," he added.

"Iran's forensic morgues already clasp bodies for months, truthful 4 months successful freezing is not exotic. That is what 'religious and ineligible standards' cover," Mohammed said.

Operation Epic Fury began connected Feb. 28 pinch a targeted U.S. strike that killed Khamenei astatine his compound successful Tehran. He had ruled nan Islamic Republic for 36 years.

"There whitethorn not beryllium overmuch of a assemblage to present. Khamenei was killed by a bunker-penetration strike, and others killed pinch him were recovered weeks later and identified by DNA," Mohammed explained.

"A authorities holding an intact assemblage does not cancel nan farewell, displacement nan funeral tract repeatedly, and corroborate that he tin beryllium buried only days out.

"It sounds little for illustration reverence and much for illustration remains they could sphere but not display," he said.

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In this image obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), boy of Iran's ultimate leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks on a thoroughfare successful Tehran connected May 31, 2019. (Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)

With that, Iranian authorities are portraying nan ceremonial arsenic some a farewell to nan leader and a show of spot nether nan motto "We Must Avenge."

According to Iranian authorities media, Yaqoub Soleimani, lawman for taste and acquisition affairs astatine nan Martyrs Foundation and 1 of nan funeral's organizers, said Wednesday nan ceremonial would beryllium conducted "with afloat grandeur."

Soleimani said a turnout of 1 cardinal group would make nan arena "a humanities occasion" and "a nationalist epic successful nan representation of nan Islamic Republic of Iran."

The schedule starts pinch nationalist viewings Saturday and Sunday successful Tehran. A ceremonial convoy is scheduled for July 6, wherever section authorities estimate 15 cardinal to 20 cardinal group could attend.

Another convoy is planned nan pursuing time successful Qom, 1 of Shiite Islam's holiest cities.

"The numbers nan authorities is putting retired — up to 20 cardinal mourners successful Tehran, 35 cardinal nationwide, much than 90 countries represented, 14,000 journalists credentialed — are not logistics," Mohammed, of nan George Washington Program connected Extremism, said.

"They are nan message. Tehran is spending everything it has to task continuity and spot because aft nan warfare some are successful question."

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Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) subject unit are stepping on Enghelab (Revolution) Avenue arsenic an Iranian Kheibar Surface-to-Surface rocket is being unveiled during nan Ela Beit Al-Moghaddas (Al-Aqsa Mosque) subject rally successful Tehran, Iran, connected November 24, 2023. The IRGC is unveiling 2 caller missiles during nan rally. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

According to Iran International, Tehran is besides preparing a monolithic information cognition for nan funeral.

"The Basij and nan IRGC moving this is nan story, not a detail," Mohammed said.

"The Basij is coordinating logistics — highways turned into parking, each Tehran territory assigned a province, 5 nationalist holidays declared — and nan Guard has crowd control.

"This is simply a mobilization dressed arsenic a funeral. The aforesaid servants of nan state organizing nan condolences this week is nan servants of nan state that put down nan January protests and denied funerals to nan families of nan group it killed then. American readers should clasp those 2 facts adjacent to each other," he added.

While elder Iraqi officials will be nan funeral, practice from different awesome powers will beryllium limited.

Although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian personally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India will alternatively nonstop a lower-level charismatic delegation.

Reports connected June 30 besides confirmed that Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili will be nan ceremony.

"No awesome powerfulness is sending its apical leader," Mohammed said.

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"For a authorities that claims to lead a beforehand stretching from Beirut to Sanaa, a location turnout astatine its founder-successor's ceremonial is nan isolation showing done nan pageantry.

"For Washington, it is simply a useful readout: the warfare near Tehran's axis smaller and much location than nan authorities advertises," he added.