MASHHAD, Iran: Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest on Thursday at the Shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad after funeral prayers attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners, bringing to a close six days of nationwide funeral ceremonies.
Khamenei was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli strike on February 28, the opening day of the Iran war.
Funeral prayers were led by Ayatollah Mostafa Khamenei during a ceremony attended by thousands of mourners in the holy city, according to Iranian state media.
🎥 پیکر رهبر شهید انقلاب بعد از اقامۀ نماز بهسوی حرم منتقل شد https://t.co/RLFMj54m8s pic.twitter.com/u1Pp00BmRJ
— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) July 9, 2026
Following the prayers, Khamenei was buried at the Shrine of Imam Reza. According to Iranian media, he was laid to rest alongside his granddaughter, his daughter, his son-in-law and Zahra Haddad Adel, the wife of his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who were also killed in the February 28 strike.
Earlier in the day, Khamenei’s coffin was carried on a truck through the crowded streets of Mashhad towards the shrine.
Video footage published by Iran’s official news agency IRNA showed thousands of people lining the route to the shrine. When the procession reached the densely packed courtyard, a helicopter transported the coffin over the final stretch because the vehicle could no longer move through the crowd.
AFP correspondents reported that men dressed in black shirts and women wearing black chadors filled the streets.
Leadership transition
The burial marked the final stage of funeral ceremonies that had also taken place in Tehran, the religious city of Qom and neighbouring Iraq.
Khamenei’s chief of staff, Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpaygani, had previously told Iranian state television that the late leader had personally wished to be buried in Mashhad.
The Shrine of Imam Reza has served as the burial place of several prominent Iranian figures over the centuries, including former president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024, as well as several former Iranian leaders.
Meanwhile, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed Supreme Leader by Iran’s Assembly of Experts following his father’s assassination, has remained out of public view since the February 28 attack.
Mojtaba sustained serious injuries during the strike, including severe facial injuries and wounds to his limbs, senior sources, cited by Iranian media, said.
Although he has issued written statements, no photographs, videos or audio recordings have been released since the attack.
The sources said he was recovering while security authorities were limiting his public exposure because of continuing security concerns.
Khamenei became Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1989, succeeding Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During his 37 years in office, he consolidated political, military and religious authority in the office of the Supreme Leader and remained the country’s most influential decision-maker until his assassination.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1939–2026) was Iran’s Supreme Leader and the country’s highest political and religious authority from 1989 until his assassination in February 2026.
Born on April 19, 1939, in the holy city of Mashhad, Khamenei studied Islamic theology under prominent Shia scholars in Mashhad and Qom, including Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Khamenei was an opponent of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi before the revolution and was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Shah’s security forces.
Following the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, he held several senior positions, including deputy defence minister, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader and a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Council.
He served as Iran’s third president from 1981 to 1989 during the Iran-Iraq War. After the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in June 1989, the Assembly of Experts appointed Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
In that role, he became commander-in-chief of the armed forces and exercised ultimate authority over Iran’s military, judiciary, state broadcasting, intelligence services and key strategic policies.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in an Israeli strike on February 28, 2026.
