Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be laid to rest in Mashhad today
- By Sheeraz Soomro -
- Jul 09, 2026
KARBALA: Funeral prayers for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were offered within the courtyard of the Shrine of Imam Hussain (AS) in Karbala.
MASHHAD: Ayatollah Khamenei, described as Iran’s martyred Supreme Leader, will be laid to rest in Mashhad today.
His burial will take place in the courtyard of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (RA). According to Iraqi authorities, millions of mourners participated in the funeral procession held in Iraq.
At some moments, the scene turned chaotic, with mourners swarming the coffin, forcing pallbearers to lower it to avoid losing control.
The ceremonies began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran, Iran’s capital, as throngs commemorated the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body was later taken from Najaf to Karbala before it is to be returned to Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war. The 86-year-old supreme leader was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war.
Talks on ending the war between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial.
However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement to end the monthslong conflict that engulfed the Middle East could completely break down.
The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.
Read more: Huge crowd attends Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral in Iraq
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body arrived on Tuesday in Najaf, considered one of the holiest of cities for millions of Shiite Muslims worldwide. Mourners holding portraits of Khamenei welcomed the body and senior officials escorting it, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The body was placed in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag and encased in glass.