Iran buries former leader Khamenei amid US-Iran strikes

Iran buried its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday, more than four months after his death in an airstrike. The ceremony took place at the Imam Reza shrine in his hometown of Mashhad, drawing large crowds. Khamenei's successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was notably absent from public view.

The burial occurred amid escalating retaliatory attacks between the United States and Iran, raising fears of a full-scale war. Iranian officials reported that US strikes killed 17 people, while state media indicated an attack targeted a railway line between Tehran and Mashhad. The Islamic Republic stated it had resumed strikes against US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, with air raid sirens sounding in Jordan.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed along with several close family members on February 28, during the initial phase of the US-Israel war against Iran. Among those attending the burial were Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, influential Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Khamenei's eldest son, Mostafa. State television showed senior leaders mourning over Khamenei's coffin. Since being named as his successor, he had communicated only through written statements and was reportedly injured in the February 28 attack.

“

The burial of the martyr leader of the Islamic Revolution was performed in the memorial hall of the Imam Reza shrine.