Powerful IRGC general reappears as Iran prepares multi-day funeral for Khamenei

Tehran: A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has re-emerged from hiding as the country prepares a dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

State media on Friday published photographs and video showing Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attending a planning meeting for the funeral and later sitting beside Khamenei’s coffin during a smaller mourning ceremony near the supreme leader’s former residence in central Tehran. Vahidi, who has not been seen publicly since February 8, is widely regarded by analysts as a key figure shaping Tehran’s hardline negotiating stance over any permanent end to the recent conflict with the United States.

Iranian reports say Vahidi is among a small inner circle believed to be in direct contact with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader who has remained in hiding and was reportedly wounded during Israeli strikes on February 28 that killed his father.

State television showed mourners gathered at the husseiniyah on Khamenei’s compound, where the late leader’s body lay in a coffin on a stage decorated with red tulips and paper butterflies. Attendees identified by state outlets as relatives of those killed in the 2025 12-day war and in the recent fighting were filmed brushing scarves and other items against the coffin, a customary gesture in Iranian mourning rituals.

Authorities plan to launch the main funeral on Saturday at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran and transport the body to cities across Iran and to neighbouring Iraq. Security measures and street closures are expected as officials mark the passing of a leader who governed Iran for decades and frequently confronted the West.

(Inputs from AP)