Powerful Iranian general reappears publicly as Tehran prepares for Khamenei's funeral
Experts say Vahidi has become a key figure in shaping Iran's hardline position in negotiations over a possible permanent end to the war with the United States.
Highlights
- General Ahmad Vahidi reappears publicly after months out of view.
- Vahidi attends Khamenei funeral preparations and mourning ceremony.
- Reports describe Vahidi influencing postwar negotiations with the United States.
- Khamenei's coffin displayed during ceremonies in central Tehran.
- Foreign dignitaries and Iranian officials pay respects at Grand Mosalla.
- Iran prepares major funeral processions amid heightened security measures.
A powerful Iranian general who commands the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has appeared in public for the first time in months as Tehran prepares for the dayslong funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Photos released by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting on arrangements for Khamenei's funeral before sitting beside the late leader's coffin during a smaller mourning ceremony held yesterday (2 july) night near Khamenei's former residence in central Tehran.
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Experts say Vahidi has become a key figure in shaping Iran's hardline position in negotiations over a possible permanent end to the war with the United States. He is believed to be among a small group in direct contact with Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of public view after reportedly being wounded in Israeli strikes on 28 Feb that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.
Vahidi himself had not been seen publicly since 8 February, weeks before the Iran war began. During the conflict, Israel killed several senior Iranian military and government leaders and has also threatened the life of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Video released by Iranian state media showed the mourning ceremony held near the husseiniyah at Khamenei's compound in Tehran. An Israeli airstrike at the start of the war killed Khamenei and several members of his family. State media showed his coffin placed on a stage decorated with red tulips, while paper butterflies hung from the ceiling in front of it.
Mourners dressed in black, identified by state media as relatives of those killed in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other personal items toward attendants to touch against the coffin, a traditional practice in Iran.
Later, state media broadcast images of Khamenei's coffin draped with a red flag bearing the white calligraphy "Ya Hussein," a Shiite expression commemorating the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. The flag had previously flown over the golden-domed Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, Iraq. It traditionally symbolizes the unjust shedding of blood and a call for vengeance.
On Friday morning, security personnel carried Khamenei's coffin, now covered with the Iranian flag, by hand as it arrived at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran. Religious leaders, government officials and foreign dignitaries paid their respects by walking past the coffin, along with those of several slain family members, including his 14-month-old granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.
Iran will begin Khamenei's dayslong funeral on Saturday. His body will later be taken to several cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities are expected to shut down streets, close airspace and disrupt daily activities in Tehran as mourners honor Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades with an iron grip while maintaining a confrontational stance toward the West.
