Saudi Arabia sends condolences as Iran holds Khamenei’s funeral

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent condolences to Iran’s President as Tehran held a state funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The message of condolence was conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian by Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji, who attended the ceremony, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said early Saturday.

The funeral of Khamenei, who was assassinated by Israel on Feb. 28, is expected to last several days.

Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin lay at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla alongside those of family members also killed in the attack.

State television showed people rallying at night in various Iranian cities, chanting slogans in support of the country’s theocracy and against America and Israel.

The government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.