Scenes from the funeral procession

The coffin in the Musalla - the Prayer Hall

Last farewell . . .

The Coffin being led away out of the Musalla to perform Salaat al-Mayyit

Outside the house of the late Imam . . .

The funeral procession heading towards the Shrine of Lady Ma'soumah to perform Salaat al-Mayyit

The Coffin can be seen on the left of the picture below

Below: Three of the sons of the late Imam amongst other dignitaries

Approaching the mausoleum of Lady Ma'soumah (AS)

Outside the mausoleum of Lady Ma'soumah

The procession and the Coffin arriving at courtyard of the mausoleum of Lady Ma'soumah

Ayatollah al-'Udhma Sayyid Sadiq Shirazi can be seen at the lower left of the picture below

Ayatollah al-'Udhma Sayyid Sadiq Shirazi leading the Parayers-for-the-deceased

Salaat-al-Mayyit [Prayer for the Deceased] being perform

After the performance of the prayers, the funeral procession, with the coffin, headed back towards the house of the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi, for the burial of the body in accordance with the expressed will of the late Imam Ridhwanullah Alayh (RA).

As the procession headed towards the house of the late Imam (RA), members of the Iranian Special Forces and agents of the Iranian Secret Device attacked the procession and after mercilessly beating the mourners who resisted them, the agents eventually abducted the body of the late Imam . . . and drove off the scene using a military minibus!

Below are some of the few remaining snapshots capturing the moments of the body snatching operation by agents of the Iranian Secret Service. These moments are immediately after the assault, and once the secret service agents were in possession of the body. Needless to say the security forces confiscated all the cameras of the individuals who shot the event. The confiscation and arrest of individuals suspected of recording the event went on for several days after the abduction of the body.

Dispersing the mourners . . .

. . . to make space . . .

. . . for the minibus to get closer to the agents who are now in possession of the body

In the picture below, part of the minibus can be seen to have arrived - on the left of the picture, and members of the Iranian Special Forces - uniformed - and Secret Service agents, plain-clothed, an be seen mid-to-left of the picture carrying the corpse of the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi they seized earlier! ! !

Other members of the Special Forces have formed a human chain around their colleagues who are performing the body snatching operation to keep off the mourners.

Below: Once the military minibus is in position, Iranian special forces soldiers and secret service agents are about to board the body of the late Imam Muhammad Shirazi in the minibus . . . other soldiers are ensuring the people are kept clear of the body 'official' snatchers so that they could finish their task.

Below: The corpse is half way in the minibus

Below: Well Done boys . . . You are the bravest heroes of all time . . . Let's go now . . . and don't forget to shut the door . . .

As the minibus leaves scene, it can be seen from the picture below that the minibus is ringed by special forces soldiers, as well as officers of the police and the revolutionary guards - not to mention the plain-clothed secret service agents . . .

. . . . but why?

Why did the Iranian regime have to resort to the obscene and despicable act of body snatching, which is a catastrophic public relation exercise?