Ayatollah Khamenei laid to rest at holy Imam Reza shrine

Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad early Friday, July 10, fulfilling what officials said was his final wish and bringing to a close six days of funeral ceremonies across Iran and Iraq. The burial took place at the holy site, which houses the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, after Khamenei’s coffin was carried through the streets of Mashhad, where thousands of mourners gathered for a final farewell.

Funeral prayers were offered at the shrine before the burial, with Iranian media reporting that they were led by his eldest son, Ayatollah Sayyid Mostafa Hosseini Khamenei, in the presence of senior clerics, family members and mourners. Following the prayers, the coffin was taken into one of the courtyards of the shrine and borne by mourners towards the designated burial site near the Radiant Courtyard, where a private ceremony was held for his family.

Khamenei’s remains arrived in Mashhad after being flown from Iraq, where farewell ceremonies were held in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that more than 10 million people attended the events in the two Iraqi cities, with organisers saying the large gatherings passed without security incidents.

The final day of ceremonies in Mashhad saw a tightly choreographed sequence of processions and transfers. In the afternoon, crowds lined the streets as Khamenei’s coffin was carried through the city, accompanied by mourners holding Iranian flags and banners. Later, the vehicle bearing his remains left the main funeral route and proceeded towards the Imam Reza shrine for the final prayers and burial, under heavy security.

Earlier in the day, Iranian fighter jets escorted the aircraft carrying Khamenei’s remains and members of his family as it approached Mashhad’s Shahid Hashemi Nejad Airport. The coffin was then transferred by helicopter to the shrine complex ahead of the final rites, after the funeral procession concluded its route through the city.

The six-day mourning period unfolded against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions, with Iran facing renewed US strikes following the February 28 attack that killed Khamenei, several members of his family and senior officials. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed solidarity with Iran, saying in a post on X that US strikes had resumed “barely” after the funeral and describing images of 14-month-old Shaheeda Zahra Mohammadi’s coffin beside her grandfather’s as “heart-breaking”.

Iranian authorities also reported domestic disruptions linked to the security situation. Passenger train services between Tehran and Mashhad were suspended on Thursday after what state media described as US strikes on a section of the railway line. Iranian Railways said technical teams had been deployed to repair the affected stretch and that stranded passengers would be taken to Mashhad by road while restoration work continued.

In a message of thanks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi expressed gratitude to the Iraqi government and people for hosting the funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala. He praised Iraqi authorities, religious leaders, tribal chiefs, shrine custodians, security forces, the Popular Mobilisation Units and volunteers for their role in organising the events, saying the participation of millions of Iraqis underscored the deep religious, historical and cultural ties between the two neighbours.