Leader Performs Prayers as Funeral Held for Late Cleric in Mashhad

Imam Khamenei, accompanied by a host of senior Iranian officials, uttered a prayer at the deceased’s coffin covered with a black pall.

The funeral ceremony was held at the shrine of the eighth Shiite imam, Imam Reza (AS).

Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi was the chief custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi, a charitable organization holding trusteeship of Imam Reza’s shrine.

Imam Khamenei’s trip to Mashhad -some 900 km away from capital Tehran- to attend the funeral service shows the significant position of the late cleric.

Heads of Iran’s three branches of power, President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, as well as many other ministers and state officials also attend the funeral service.

Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi died on Friday morning at the age of 80. He has been admitted to the hospital since a couple of days ago due to respiratory problems.

Born in the holy city of Mashhad in 1935, Ayatollah Vaez Tabasi began to get religious schooling in different seminaries at 12 years of age.

Soon after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini (AS) appointed him as the chief custodian and trustee of the Astan Quds Razavi.

The late cleric’s first plan after taking control of the trusteeship of Astan Quds Razavi was to conduct a thorough review of the whole endowment and religious offerings belonging to the organization with all details.

Astan Quds Razavi is a charitable foundation in Mashhad that administers the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) and the endowments bestowed on the trusteeship.