TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday buried its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad, bringing to a close a week of state funeral ceremonies and mass public processions.
According to reports, Khamenei was killed on February 28 during a joint US-Israeli strike that marked the opening of the conflict. The months-long war has since claimed thousands of lives and severely disrupted regional stability and global energy supplies.
The funeral procession moved through the streets of Mashhad toward the Imam Reza shrine, with large crowds of mourners, clerics and supporters accompanying the cortege. As the procession slowed due to the large gathering, authorities used a helicopter to transport the coffin over the crowd for the final stage before senior clerics offered funeral prayers.
Iranian authorities described the large public turnout as a demonstration of support for the Islamic Republic nearly five decades after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, the country continues to face political and economic challenges, while the legacy of Khamenei’s decades-long leadership remains the subject of debate following years of public protests.
Attention has also focused on his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader shortly after his father’s death. Reports said he has not appeared in public since the February strike because of injuries and security concerns, although he has continued issuing written statements.
During the final burial ceremony, mourners chanted slogans against the United States and called for retaliation over the strike that killed the late Iranian leader. Authorities also sprayed water over the crowds amid high summer temperatures.
The burial followed funeral processions held in Tehran, Qom, Najaf and Karbala before Khamenei’s remains were laid to rest at the Imam Reza shrine in his hometown of Mashhad.
