Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Friday against any attempts to target the country in the coming days, ahead of the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
This comes after Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “marked for death,” in comments reported by the Israeli news agency Ynet on Monday.
The Islamic Republic is on watch for any potential attacks that may target the funeral ceremony, where millions of Iranians and several foreign dignitaries are expected to take part.
As crowds gather for the funeral, any attack could kill thousands, while senior Iranian officials appearing in public face the added risk of assassination.
A Reuters video on Friday showed security personnel patrolling the streets of Tehran ahead of funeral processions. Iran also announced the complete closure of airspace over Tehran on Monday.
“There are threats that they are considering from the air and from the ground,” Danny Citrinowitz, former head of the Iran branch of Israel’s military intelligence, told CNN, adding that the Iranians “don’t want to take any chances” and have therefore “heavily guarded everything.”
Questions remain over whether the funeral will mark the first public appearance of Mojtaba Khamenei since his father and family members were killed on the first day of the war.
The United States and Israel are only the external threats Iran faces. The country is also home to several minority groups that have clashed with regime forces in the past, including Kurdish militants, Arab and Baloch separatists, among others.
Iran may also be wary of attacks by the exiled Mujahadin-e Khalq (MeK), which Iran accuses of carrying out attacks inside Iran over several decades.
Citrinowitz said that the appearance of multiple officials, such as IRGC chief Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, may however indicate that they are confident in their security measures despite knowing the risks.
