Italian anti-imperialist political and social activist Moreno Pasquinelli announced in a video message that he had departed Thursday along with a number of members of the Anti-Imperialist Axis to attend the funeral of martyr Ayatollah Khamenei.
“Our destination is Tehran, to attend the funeral procession of Imam Khamenei, who was martyred in Israeli airstrikes, and to express our solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people for their right to self-determination and the independence of their country,” he said.
Italian media activist and prominent online figure Achille Zanes also announced his departure for Tehran in a video message, saying he saw the trip as an opportunity to present the realities of Iran free from censorship and one-sided Western media narratives.
Noting that a group of Italian activists had traveled to Iran to attend the ceremony, he said he intended to livestream the funeral procession on his YouTube channels and to produce reports and interviews about Iranian society and its people during his stay.
Criticizing the image Western media outlets project of Iran, the Italian media activist said his aim was to narrate the truth and show the realities of Iranian society.
Zanes described being among the limited number of Italian activists traveling to Iran as a great honor, saying he saw himself as a representative of an audience that wanted to witness the realities of the historic event firsthand.
The departure of the Italian activists is part of a broader wave of independent figures, grassroots groups, antiwar activists, and members of European anti-imperialist movements attending the funeral of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Representatives from Islamic centers, civic groups, and antiwar and anti-hegemony movements from several European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, and Austria, have traveled to Tehran to attend or provide media coverage of the ceremony.
