A powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged from hiding as Tehran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller service for him on Thursday night near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say.He is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being reportedly wounded in the February 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei.Vahidi himself hasn’t been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began.Beginning Saturday, Iran will hold a dayslong funeral for Khamenei, and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq.The funeral will begin at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where authorities plan to shut down streets and daily life as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei, who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.Ayatollah Khamenei’s coffin taken to the site of assassination: Iranian mediaJuly 3, 2026 8:06 amIranian state media said that in an unannounced event, the coffin carrying the body of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was taken to the site where he was killed. According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), “In an unannounced event, the coffin carrying the body of the martyred leader Ayatollah Khamenei was brought to the site of his martyrdom.” The multi-day public farewell, scheduled to take place on July 4 and 5 in the capital city, is anticipated to draw a record-breaking crowd of up to 20 million participants, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).