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TEHRAN, Iran — A powerful Iranian general not seen in public for months has been photographed at a service for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country prepared for the late leader’s sweeping dayslong funeral.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Photos published online by Iranian state media Thursday night showed Gen.
Ahmad Vahidi, who leads the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) , after reportedly attending a meeting about Khamenei’s funeral.Vahidi was then seen sitting alongside Khamenei’s casket at what The Associated Press reported was a smaller service held Thursday night near the late supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.Local and foreign officials walk past Khamenei's coffin after paying their respects.Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty ImagesIranian officials gathered in Tehran on Friday to pay their early respects to Khamenei, whose funeral is expected to be a show of force as the regime tries to demonstrate its continued hold over the nation after surviving the U.S.
and Israel’s devastating assault.In images published by The Associated Press and Getty Images a large crowd surrounded the coffin carrying Khamenei’s remains on Friday morning, some weeping as they paid tribute to a leader who was worshipped by some and reviled by others.Mourners carry Khamenei's coffin at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Friday.Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty ImagesOutside the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque members of the IRGC could be seen kneeling.Under Khamenei, the IRGC became the top military, political and economic force in the country.Millions of Iranians are expected to pay their respects as Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly four decades.
Those gathering for the lying in state and funeral will contrast with huge nationwide protests in January that were met by a deadly crackdown by security forces that left thousands dead and sent shockwaves a...