Iran buries Khamenei in Mashhad after staging dayslong funeral procession

By Agencies and ToI Staff 10 July 2026, 2:06 am

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The flower petal-covered coffin of the late Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried above mourners reaching out to touch it outside the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, July 9, 2026. (AP/Khalil Hamra)

Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been buried months after being killed in the opening salvos of the Iran war.

He ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before being killed in the US and Israeli airstrikes that started the war on February 28. He was laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad early Friday after days of public mourning.

Khamenei is only the second ruler of the nation to be buried in the city of Mashhad. In 1747, Nader Shah was buried in the city after he was assassinated following nearly 11 years in power.

The funeral processions began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran, Iran’s capital, and other cities, as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.