Dubai: Thousands of Iranian worshippers on Saturday converged on Tehran’s grand mosque for Eid ul-Fitr prayers, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Associated Press footage showed worshippers lining up at Imam Khomeini Mosalla, and in its vast courtyard for the prayers, as Israel and the United States continued launching massive airstrikes against Iran.
Masoud Alibenam, 50, said it’s “really a painful feeling” that the Eid prayers are being offered without Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first days of the war. “The leader (Khamenei) is no longer here, and we are offering the prayers in his absence.”
Worshippers also held funeral services for Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Friday. The funeral procession of Amir Hossein Bidi, a pro-government cultural activist, was also held after Eid prayers.
