Iran laid to rest its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, located in the country’s northeast. This ceremony marked the conclusion of a week filled with large funeral processions and state-organized rallies.
Khamenei was killed on February 28 during a US airstrike, which coincided with the first day of the conflict. This attack was part of a coordinated US-Israeli offensive against Iran. The ensuing war has lasted several months, resulting in thousands of casualties and significant disruptions to global energy markets.
On the day of the burial, the funeral procession moved slowly through the packed streets of Mashhad, heading toward the golden dome of Iran’s holiest shrine. The coffin, carried on a truck and surrounded by clerics and mourners dressed in black waving Iranian flags and chanting revolutionary slogans, eventually became stuck in the dense crowd. To complete the final leg of the journey, authorities deployed a helicopter to airlift the coffin over the throng, placing it on a carpet where senior clerics gathered to offer prayers.
Iranian officials have portrayed the large turnout at the funeral events as a sign of strong public support for the theocratic regime, nearly five decades after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Nevertheless, the country continues to grapple with significant internal difficulties. The legacy of Khamenei’s 37-year leadership remains deeply divisive, especially after years of widespread protests against poverty and government repression.
In a significant development, uncertainty surrounds the succession of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was declared supreme leader by a clerical assembly in early March, one week after his father’s death. Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since the February 28 strike, which left him with severe injuries, including facial disfigurement and damaged limbs. Although he has issued written statements, no photographs, videos, or voice recordings have been released. Senior officials in Tehran have indicated that he is still recovering and is not yet fit for public appearances. Meanwhile, state security agencies are restricting his exposure to reduce the risk of further US attacks.
During the final burial rituals in Mashhad, the large crowd gathered in the shrine’s courtyard chanted slogans demanding vengeance against then-US President Donald Trump, who ordered the strike. Mourners, including women holding placards, shouted “Death to America” and explicitly threatened the US president. To help the crowd cope with the hot July weather, authorities sprayed water over the attendees.
The burial in Mashhad followed a multi-city funeral procession that paraded the remains of Khamenei and four family members killed alongside him through Tehran, Qom, and the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.
