Three days after Iran stunned the world by launching a massive missile strike on Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei has announced that he will be personally leading weekly congregational prayers in Tehran this Friday.
The leader will be appearing in public after several Western media outlets reported that Ayatollah Khamenei has been transferred to a “secure location with increased security measures” following Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah on September 27 and subsequent Iranian retaliation against Israel.
Sayyed Khamenei will be leading Friday prayers at Imam Khomeini Mosalla in suburban Tehran and his sermon is anticipated to set the tone for Iran’s future strategy against Israel. Ayatollah leads Friday prayers only under extraordinary circumstances, the last time was 2020 after American assasination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
In Iran Friday prayers are an elaborate affair unlike in the rest of the Muslim world. Every city has a Friday prayer Imam appointed by the state and prayers are held only in a central mosque or a major prayer ground. In Tehran tens of thousands attend Friday prayers at Tehran University grounds but this Friday prayers will be offered at Mosala grounds to accommodate larger numbers.
Ayatollah Khamenei is also expected to announce the date of the funeral and burial place of Sayyed Nasrallah which has not yet taken place due to ongoing war in Lebanon.
The Israeli offensive and fear of more attacks have also prevented Hezbollah from organising a nationwide funeral on a scale reflecting Nasrallah’s religious and leadership status.
“No one can authorize a funeral in these circumstances,” one Hezbollah source said, lamenting the situation in which officials and religious leaders could not come forward to properly honor the late leader.
Several commanders killed last week were buried discreetly on Monday, with plans for a proper religious ceremony when the conflict ends.
Hezbollah is mulling the option of securing a religious decree to bury Hassan Nasrallah temporarily and hold an official funeral when the situation permits, some Lebanese sources said.
Speculation also continues over where Nasrallah will be buried, with conflicting reports suggesting either Lebanon or Iraq as his final resting place, according to an article released on Abu Dhabi-based The National.
Iraqi officials and local media have indicated that Sayyed Nasrallah may be buried at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, as he was an important figure within the Shia community.
Abdul Amir Al Teiban, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, posted on X that Nasrallah would be buried “next to Imam Hussein, in Karbala.”
Now all eyes are on Friday sermon of Ayatollah Khamenei as speculations are rife that Iran leader will announce funarl date and place of burial of slain Hezbollah leader.
