Ali Khamenei Buried in Mashhad After Week-Long Procession

The body of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was officially laid to rest at the Imam Reza Shrine complex in Mashhad on Thursday (9 July) local time. The burial marked the culmination of a series of final tribute ceremonies lasting nearly a week.

The funeral rites were held at the Dar Al-Dhikr prayer hall within the sacred complex. The ceremony was attended by high-level delegations, including political officials representing more than 45 countries, as well as scholars and religious figures from over 90 countries worldwide.

The long series of tributes for the late Khamenei began on Friday (3 July) at the Grand Musalla in Tehran, where millions of people packed the site to pay their final respects. The procession continued in the capital, Tehran, on Monday (6 July).

On Tuesday (7 July), the body was taken to the holy city of Qom and the Jamkaran Mosque, before being flown to Iraq on Wednesday (8 July) to lie in state in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The cross-country journey underscored the leader’s considerable influence in the region.

The procession reached its peak in Mashhad on Thursday (9 July), when millions of mourners once again filled the streets and the burial site to attend the final farewell ceremony before the body was interred at the Imam Reza Shrine complex.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several members of his family, was reportedly killed on 28 February 2026. The incident coincided with the first day of military aggression launched by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran.