New Valiasr Square Mural Marks the Nation's Final Farewell to the Martyred Leader

Artist Danial Farrokh's latest work depicts the late Leader's hand raised in farewell, framed by butterflies and a line of poetry, as the six-day funeral ceremonies draw to a close

TEHRAN — A new mural was unveiled at Tehran’s Valiasr Square on Friday, marking the final stage of the nation’s farewell to the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The work was designed by graphic artist Danial Farrokh, who also created the previous installation at the same site. It depicts the hand of the late Leader raised in a gesture of farewell, adorned with the image of butterflies — a symbol of the Iranian people — and accompanied by the poetic line: “What candle is this, for which all souls are but butterflies?”

The unveiling coincided with the conclusion of the extensive funeral and farewell ceremonies. Spanning six days, the processions moved across Tehran, Qom, the Iraqi holy cities, and finally Mashhad, culminating in the official burial of the martyred Leader at the shrine of Imam Reza (AS). The mural stands as a visual tribute to the bond between the Leader and his followers, capturing the atmosphere of mourning and devotion that has marked the country throughout the period of grief.

The latest in a series at Valiasr Square

The farewell mural is the newest in a sequence of large works created at the square in the late Leader’s honour. Farrokh’s earlier installation there, unveiled during the funeral ceremonies, drew on the phrases “Ya Latharat al-Hussein” (O Avengers of Hussein’s Blood) and “Ya Latharat al-Khamenei,” binding the legacy of Imam Hussein (AS) to the Leader’s own martyrdom, and taking its inspiration from the mourning rituals of Muharram.

Before that, his “Clenched Fists” mural — at 63.5 metres long and 14 metres high, recognised as the largest in Iran — depicted the Leader’s clenched fist alongside the raised fists of people from every walk of life, together with the Quranic verse, “And victory comes only from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” That work was unveiled as the JANFADA (Ready to Sacrifice Life) grassroots campaign reached a historic milestone, with more than 31 million Iranians — over 60 percent of them women — pledging their readiness to defend the homeland in the face of US and Israeli threats.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was martyred in the coordinated US-Israeli attack of February 28, which struck key national sites across Iran. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has since been appointed as the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution by the Assembly of Experts.

Reference: Tehran Times