Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, the powerful commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, has appeared in public after months as Tehran prepared for the dayslong funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state media published photographs showing him at a meeting on the funeral arrangements and later seated beside Khamenei’s casket at a smaller service held on Thursday night.
Vahidi has become an important figure in shaping Iran’s hardline position in talks on a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He is also believed to be part of a small group in direct contact with Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the February 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.
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Vahidi had not been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began. Video released by Iranian state media showed the mourning ceremony for Khamenei near the husseiniyah at his compound in Tehran. State media said Khamenei’s body was placed in a coffin on a stage, with red tulips lined up in front of it and what appeared to be paper butterflies hanging from the ceiling.
According to the report, an Israeli airstrike in the opening moments of the war on February 28 killed Khamenei and some of his family members. The mourners, dressed in black and identified by state media as families of people who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran.
From Saturday, Iran will begin a dayslong funeral for Khamenei, with his body to be taken to cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq. The funeral will start at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where authorities plan to shut streets and disrupt daily life as mourners mark the life of Khamenei, who led Iran for decades while confronting the West.
In all, Vahidi’s reappearance came as Iran moved ahead with funeral ceremonies for Khamenei, with state media showing both the initial mourning service in Tehran and preparations for the larger observances due to begin on Saturday.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
