Khamenei laid to rest in Mashhad amid anti-US protests

TEHRAN: Iran on Thursday buried its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad, concluding a week of mass funeral processions and state rallies.

Khamenei was killed on February 28 during a US airstrike on the opening day of the conflict, part of a joint US-Israeli barrage against the country. The subsequent months-long war has resulted in thousands of casualties and caused severe disruptions to global energy supplies.

On Thursday, the funeral cortege moved slowly through the crowded streets of Mashhad toward the golden dome of the country’s holiest shrine.

Surrounded by clerics and black-clad mourners waving Iranian flags and revolutionary slogans, the truck carrying the coffin eventually became gridlocked. Authorities deployed a helicopter to lift the coffin over the thick crowds for the final stretch of the journey, placing it on a carpet where senior clerics gathered to pray.

Internal challenges and succession

Iranian authorities have framed the large turnout at the funeral events as a demonstration of public support for the theocratic state, nearly fifty years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, the country continues to face severe internal challenges, and the legacy of Khamenei’s 37-year rule remains highly contested following years of repeated public protests against poverty and state repression.

Uncertainty also surrounds his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was proclaimed supreme leader by a clerical assembly in early March, a week after his father’s death.

The younger Khamenei has remained entirely hidden from public view since the February 28 strike, which left him with debilitating injuries, a disfigured face, and badly wounded limbs.

While Mojtaba Khamenei has issued written statements, no photographs, video footage, or voice recordings of him have been released. Senior sources in Tehran indicated that he is currently recovering but remains unfit for public appearances, while state security services are actively limiting his exposure to mitigate the risk of further US attacks.

Calls for revenge

During the final rituals in Mashhad, the massive crowd in the shrine’s courtyard chanted slogans demanding retribution against US President Donald Trump for ordering the strike. Mourners, including women holding placards, chanted “Death to America” and explicitly threatened the US president.

Amid hot July temperatures, authorities used hoses to spray water over the gathered crowds to keep them cool. The burial in Mashhad followed a multi-city funeral procession where the remains of Khamenei and four family members killed alongside him were paraded through Tehran, Qom, and the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala.