TEHRAN: Iran buried its slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, today at the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, the country’s holiest shrine.
The ceremony took place as his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained out of public view after reportedly suffering severe injuries, including facial disfigurement and wounds to his limbs, in the strike that killed his father.
The burial in northeastern Iran marked the culmination of a week of funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies held across Iran and Iraq. The events coincided with renewed tensions between Iran and the United States following weeks of truce.
Thousands of mourners marched through Mashhad on Thursday morning, waving Iranian flags, carrying portraits of the late leader and displaying revolutionary slogans as the golden dome and minarets of the Shrine of Imam Reza overlooked the procession.
During the past week, Khamenei’s body was taken through several cities in Iran and Iraq. Iranian clerical leaders encouraged massive public participation, presenting the large crowds as a demonstration of the Islamic Republic’s strength and ideological resolve.
Despite surviving months of conflict with the United States and Israel, Iran continues to face internal political and economic challenges, while Khamenei’s 37-year rule remains the subject of deep domestic debate.
The whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei have remained unknown to the public since Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike on February 28. Although he was declared supreme leader by a clerical assembly a week after his father’s death and has issued written statements, no photographs, videos or audio recordings of him have been released.
Senior sources in Tehran said Mojtaba Khamenei is recovering from serious injuries but has not yet recovered sufficiently to appear in public. They added that state security agencies are also limiting his exposure because of concerns over possible future US attacks.
As mourners gathered in Mashhad awaiting the funeral procession, crowds chanted slogans calling for revenge against US President Donald Trump. Demonstrators shouted, “We swear by the blood of the supreme leader, Trump, we will kill you,” while some women held placards reading “Kill Trump.”
Before the burial, the remains of Ali Khamenei and four family members who were killed alongside him had been taken through Tehran, the religious city of Qom, and the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala. Large crowds attended each ceremony, accompanied by mourning chants and revolutionary slogans.
Martyrdom occupies a central place in Islamic theology, and Iranian authorities have portrayed Khamenei’s death at the hands of foreign adversaries as part of a religious and political tradition deeply rooted in the Islamic Republic.
The funeral comes at a pivotal moment for Iran, closing the chapter on nearly four decades of Khamenei’s leadership. It also follows months of nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic, fuelled by public anger over the sanctions-hit economy and encouraged, according to Iranian authorities, by Israeli and US support.
Iranian security forces suppressed the unrest, which resulted in the deaths of many protesters.
Although analysts say Iran emerged from the recent conflict with its control over the Strait of Hormuz intact, the country suffered extensive damage from US and Israeli strikes targeting civilian and oil infrastructure, adding to its economic difficulties.
Ali Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in 1989, a decade after the Islamic Revolution. Over the following decades, he consolidated political, economic and military authority in the office of the supreme leader, while the powers of the elected president and parliament gradually diminished.
This consolidation occurred alongside the growing influence of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which became an increasingly powerful force during Khamenei’s rule. Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed with the backing of the Guards, who are now widely regarded as the dominant force in Iran’s political and strategic decision-making.