Iran's largest cemetery faces overwhelming demand as Covid deaths rise

The 50-year-old cemetery houses former Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini

A cemetery worker prepares new graves at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery on the outskirts of the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. The cemetery is one of the world’s largest. AP

Over the last 50 years Iran’s largest cemetery has been the final resting place of over 1.5 million people and is now trying to cope with the sharp rise in fatalities due to the coronavirus.

Named after the Prophet Mohammad’s daughter, the Behesht-e Zahra (Zahra’s paradise) cemetery is visited by more than 15,000 people a day. But the cemetery’s capacity is under increasing pressure after the country’s coronavirus-related deaths more than doubled since July.

“We admit that we have been facing a critical situation for the past eight months,” said cemetery director Sa’id Khaal, denying reports that the burial site is incapable of keeping up with the flow of bodies.

“This organisation has been running for 250 days under critical conditions but problems don’t mean that we are unable to serve citizens,” Mr Khaal told the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Known for housing victims of the Iran-Iraq war, authors, musicians and even the founder of modern Iran, Imam Ayatollah Khomeini, the cemetery, situated just outside the capital Tehran, has an important place in Iran's recent history.

Now, half of Iran’s coronavirus deaths - currently more than 400 a day - are buried in the increasingly crowded cemetery, where new graves are quickly being dug to expand capacity.

“We try to honour the [dead] people,” Mr Khaal told Mehr.