Khamenei’s body to be buried 4 months after assassination

Nearly four months after his assassination, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest near the shrine of Imam Reza in Iran’s Mashhad city.

This is in fulfillment of his final wish of being buried next to one of Shia Islam’s most revered figures.

His funeral, expected around June 21, according to the IRGC, could witness one of the largest public gatherings in modern history.

Iranian officials are expecting around 20 million mourners to converge in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad for the funeral ceremonies, state media said.

Three full days have been set aside for public viewings and farewells.

There has been no news of Khamenei’s body since the February 28 joint US-Israeli airstrikes turned his office-cum-residence in Tehran into rubble. Several other family members were killed in the airstrikes.

The main funeral ceremony in Tehran is expected to last at least 24 hours, followed by processions in the religious centre of Qom and finally in Mashhad, where burial will take place at the Imam Reza shrine.

A Tehran municipality official said Khamenei’s body will be taken in funeral processions through the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad before his burial, according to an IRGC statement.

The figure, if realised, could rival or even surpass the record set by the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei was assassinated on February 28 in a US-Israeli strike on his office-cum-residence during the opening day of the war between Iran and the two allies.

He was 86. His death came after more than three decades in power and was met with a complex mix of public mourning, shock, and, in some quarters, celebration on Tehran’s streets.

His son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was selected as successor but has maintained a low public profile since assuming the role.