So long Khamenei! Funeral for slain Iranian supreme leader killed in US, Israeli strikes to begin July 4th

Bring the fireworks! Iran has finally scheduled state funeral proceedings for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to begin on July 4 — the same day the US throws its 250th birthday bash.The ayatollah was assassinated on Feb.28, when the US and Israel slammed his Tehran compound with airstrike launching the Iran war.

But the Islamic Republic dragged its feet on holding farewell ceremonies for more than three months since his death out of fear of being attacked again.Now, with a peace deal expected to be signed in the next 24 hours, Iranian state media has announced details of the burial for the 86-year-old cleric.Three days of funeral ceremonies will be held in the capital Tehran starting on July 4, at the prayer hall of Imam Khomenei — the founder of the Islamic Republic — before a funeral procession will leave on July 6.

Then on July 7, another funeral ceremony will be held in the holy city of ⁠Qom, south of Tehran.The proceedings will conclude with a burial in Khamenei’s hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, ‌on July 9.Khamenei, who was the leader of the Islamic Republic for 36 years, will be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza, a holy place for Shiite Muslims.Funerals for his daughter and son-in-law, who were also killed in the deadly Feb.28 strike, will be held on the same day.Despite Islamic law requiring the dead be buried within 24 hours ideally, the Islamic Republic is believed to have avoided Khamenei’s funeral for so long for fear of potential airstrikes, nationalist counter-rallies similar to the nationwide uprisings earlier this year, and the regime’s need to explain the absence of his son Mojtaba Khamenei.The younger Khamenei’s son was severely disfigured in the strikes that killed his father and has not been seen in public since his appointment.

It is unclear whether he’ll be attending the ceremonies.The Islamic Republic initially planned a three-day state funeral beginning on March 4, but it never materialized once the...