The burial took place as both the US and Iran launched fresh attacks, raising fears the conflict could escalate further.
Vehicle transports the coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and coffins of his family members, on the day of his burial, in a culmination of a mass funeral, in Mashhad, Iran, Jul 9, 2026. (PHoto: REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis)
10 Jul 2026 05:43AM
MASHHAD: Iran on Thursday (Jul 9) was laying to rest its former supreme leader Ali Khamenei over four months after his killing in a US-Israeli airstrike, as Tehran's reports of new American attacks and Iranian hits on US allies raised fears of a return to all-out war.In tumultuous scenes, Khamenei's coffin was carried aloft into the shrine in his home city of Mashhad in eastern Iran as a vast sea of people waited outside and listened to prayers but with still no sign of his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei appearing in public.The burial came on the second day of attacks between the decades-old foes, with Iranian officials reporting that US strikes killed 17 people and state media saying one targeted a railway line between Tehran and Mashhad, where Khamenei's burial is being held. American strikes also hit the perimeter of an Iranian nuclear power plant, officials said.The Islamic republic said it had resumed its attacks targeting US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, while sirens blared in Jordan - another US ally - where the military said it had intercepted eight missiles launched from Iran.Khamenei was killed alongside close family members on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran on Feb 28.The last of a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies, Khamenei's burial in his hometown of Mashhad was being closely watched for signs of his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since being appointed.Parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, powerful chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Khamenei's eldest son Mostafa Khamenei were all present at the shrine, with some senior figures weeping over Khamenei's coffin, state TV images showed.But as on other days of the funeral process there was no sign of Mojtaba Khamenei, who since being named has only communicated through written statements and is said to have been wounded in the February 28 strikes.The area around the shrine of Imam Reza was still bustling with a huge crowd in the evening, to the sound of religious chants, as the burial ceremony went on late into the night.
