TEHRAN – As the funeral ceremony of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, approaches, many volunteers along with government organizations and the private sector are being prepared to host participants.

Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred on the first day of the joint US-Israeli aggression on February 28 in his office in Tehran. Many of his family members, including his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, and grandchild, were also martyred. Several senior military commanders were also assassinated in the same strike.

The main funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for July 6. On July 7, funeral ceremonies will be held in the holy city of Qom, where prayers will be offered over the Leader’s body.

The procession is then expected to travel to Iraq on July 8, following requests from Iraqi tribes, scholars, and religious and political figures. Funeral rites are planned in the cities of Najaf and Karbala, with Iraqi authorities set to announce specific timings and locations.

The farewell ceremony is scheduled to kick off on Saturday in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla. So, security, relief, and medical forces in the capital are fully prepared to host the attendees by setting up different committees and coordinating among governmental agencies and the private sector.

Ensuring the security of the participants is the main priority, so the security, law enforcement, and military forces are working round the clock to make sure everyone will be safe during the ceremony.

To manage the crowd in Mosalla, specific corridors have been designated for people’s entrance and exit to prevent any accidents. The main goal is to lower the length of individuals’ presence at the scene, so that all others could have the chance to say farewell to the leader.

Over 6,000 mawkibs (voluntary stations to serve the crowd) have registered to provide services to people free of charge. Moreover, universities of medical sciences have established a health committee, and tens of hospitals and medical centers in Tehran will offer services all day and night.

More than 700 ambulances, each with specific missions, will be on the funeral route, as well as accommodation centers.

Because of hot weather and the possibility of heatstroke, cool rooms have been considered around densely populated locations, where people could be transported to receive treatment.

The municipality with the capacity to accommodate one million people is responsible for the nutrition and accommodation of people. In addition, the schools, mosques, governmental places, stadiums, inns, and other public places are ready to host the people.

The management of traffic is one of the most complicated parts of the program. However, the police forces have made traffic plans to improve the movement and manage the crowd.

Over 500 to 600 foreign reporters from all over the world will attend the ceremony to reflect the Iranians' solidarity, unity, and their loyalty to the ideas of the Islamic Revolution’s founder, Imam Khomeini, and the martyred leader.

Benefiting from its experiences in crowd management, like the Arbaeen pilgrimage, the IRCS will utilize its rescue, relief, and medical capacities, as well as its volunteers, to provide services during the ceremony. The operational teams, rescue helicopters, and emergency accommodations have been all made available throughout the route.

The services are not limited to Tehran; the IRCS has divided the provinces of the country into three groups: provinces where the funeral ceremony will take place, including Tehran, Qom, and Khorasan Razavi, assistant provinces, including North Khorasan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Alborz, Markazi, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Zanjan, and the rest are considered supporting provinces.

Over 50 percent of the whole IRCS capacity, involving 350 relief centers, 1,556 operational teams, and 7,000 rescuers, will cover rescue services in Tehran, Qom, and Khorasan Razavi. The IRCS will also help provide emergency shelters for the crowd in these three cities and assist provinces.

Some 1,650 families in Tehran have volunteered to host the crowds in their homes, joining a campaign titled ‘I am the host’. 250 other groups will serve the participants in Tehran.

MT/MG