Iran has completed the burial of its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the holy city of Mashhad, ending a week of funeral ceremonies that began in Tehran on July 4 and included stops in Qom and Iraq’s Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The rites were organized as a major state event meant to project continuity and resilience after Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes in February.
The final burial took place near the shrine of Imam Reza, which Khamenei had requested as his resting place, according to Iranian officials cited by Al Jazeera.
From Tehran to the Holy Cities
According to Reuters, the funeral began on July 4 at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla prayer complex, where Khamenei’s coffin lay in state before being carried through the capital in a large public procession. The procession then continued to Qom, before moving across the border into Iraq for ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala.
Al Jazeera reported that the Mashhad burial was delayed by heavy crowds, and Iranian state television said the ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon of July 9 local time. Reuters also said the body was ultimately laid to rest in Mashhad on Thursday, concluding the multi-day mourning period.
Iranian authorities framed the multi-city route as part of Khamenei’s religious and political legacy, linking his burial to some of Shiite Islam’s most sacred sites. The final interment in Mashhad, near the shrine of Imam Reza, underscored that symbolism.
A funeral becomes a political stage
The mourning processions quickly became a display of political defiance. Reuters and Al Jazeera reported that crowds chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans throughout the week, with many mourners also calling for revenge over Khamenei’s killing.
In several footage reports, participants were seen chanting against Donald Trump as well, reflecting the anger directed at Washington and its allies. That rhetoric gave the funeral a sharper geopolitical edge, turning it into both a religious ritual and a public message of retaliation.
Reported scale
Iranian authorities and state media described the rites as exceptionally large, with millions of mourners expected or reported across the week.
Reuters said the Tehran procession drew vast crowds, while Al Jazeera reported that emergency services treated more than 34,000 participants during the ceremonies, with no fatalities recorded.
Claims of specific crowd totals in the tens of millions should be treated cautiously unless independently verified, since the available mainstream reports emphasize enormous turnout without confirming those exact figures.
Political signal
The funeral was also a political show of force. Reuters said Iranian officials used the ceremonies to signal that the Islamic Republic remained intact despite the killing of its longtime leader, while crowds chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans during the processions.
The event also drew foreign delegations, with Al Jazeera reporting attendance or representation from more than 100 countries and Reuters noting the presence of senior figures from Pakistan, China, Russia, Afghanistan and others.
Mojtaba’s absence
One of the most closely watched details was the absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, who Reuters said had succeeded his father as supreme leader but had not been seen publicly during the funeral period. Reuters and Al Jazeera both reported that his absence was linked to security concerns after he was wounded in the February strike that killed Khamenei.
That absence added intrigue to an already politically charged event, feeding speculation about succession, security, and the future balance of power inside Iran’s ruling establishment.
