Even as Iran projects calm during the funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, authorities are preparing for the grim possibility of a disaster that could leave thousands dead.
According to German newspaper Die Welt, Iranian officials have drawn up emergency plans anticipating anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 fatalities during the days-long funeral processions, which are expected to attract millions of mourners.
Thousands Of Graves Prepared
The report says officials have created a dedicated unit to deal with potential deaths and missing persons, while thousands of fresh graves have been readied at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.
A Tehran municipality employee, whose identity was concealed for security reasons, told the newspaper that the preparations were real.
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“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.”
Khamenei’s funeral began in Tehran on Saturday and will continue through the holy city of Qom before moving to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. The ceremonies are expected to conclude in Mashhad on Thursday, where he will be buried.
A City On High Alert
The funeral has triggered one of the biggest security and logistical operations Iran has undertaken in years.
The coffins of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members are pictured at the Grand Mosalla at the start of the funeral ceremonies in Tehran
Photo Credit: AFP
According to Die Welt, authorities have planned movement restrictions across Tehran, thousands of buses to transport mourners, temporary kitchens to feed crowds, and schools and mosques converted into accommodation for visitors.
The scale of these preparations reflects fears that enormous crowds, combined with soaring temperatures, could quickly turn dangerous.
Iran Has Seen Funeral Tragedies Before
In 2020, at least 56 people were killed and over 200 injured in a stampede during the funeral of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Kerman. Decades earlier, the 1989 funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini also descended into chaos, leaving at least eight people dead and hundreds more injured.
Why Authorities Fear An Attack
Beyond the risk of crowd crushes, Iranian officials are also preparing for possible security threats.
Ahead of the funeral, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned against any attempts to target Iran during the ceremonies. The warning came after Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz, reportedly said that Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “marked for death”.
With millions of mourners and senior Iranian leaders expected to attend, any attack could have devastating consequences.
Security personnel form a human chain as a preventive measure to control the crowds gathering at the Grand Mosalla to pay their final respects to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of his funeral ceremonies in Tehran
Photo Credit: AFP
Reuters footage showed security personnel patrolling Tehran’s streets before the funeral processions, while Iran also shut down the capital’s airspace on Monday.
Danny Citrinowitz, the former head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence, told CNN that Iranian authorities were preparing for threats from multiple directions.
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“There are threats that they are considering from the air and from the ground,” he said, adding that the Iranians “don’t want to take any chances” and have therefore “heavily guarded everything”.
Threats From Outside And Within
Iran’s concerns extend beyond Israel and the United States.
The government also remains wary of armed groups operating inside the country, including Kurdish militants and Arab and Baloch separatists, as well as the exiled Mujahadin-e Khalq (MeK), which Tehran has long accused of carrying out attacks within Iran.
Despite those risks, the expected public appearance of several senior officials, including IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi, suggests the government believes its extensive security arrangements are sufficient to protect the high-profile funeral events.
