Israeli-American Attack Killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as His Body Was Buried in Mashhad

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body was buried in his birthplace Mashhad after more than four months since an Israeli-American attack killed him, with large crowds gathering at the Imam Reza Shrine as tensions escalated between the United States and Iran.

Kompas said train traffic between Tehran and Mashhad stopped after American strikes targeted the railway line, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the United States of trying to cover up the funeral ceremonies.

ABNA

The burial came as funeral rites continued since Saturday, beginning in Tehran and Qom and then moving to the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, where authorities said several millions of people joined in bidding farewell.

In Mashhad, the coffin was carried through crowded streets toward the golden dome and minarets of the Imam Reza Shrine, with mourners waving Iranian flags and pictures of Khamenei and red banners bearing revolutionary slogans.

The whereabouts of Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei remained a mystery, with Kompas noting he had not appeared in public yet and that his communications had been limited to written statements.

As the burial approached, mourners in Mashhad chanted slogans calling for vengeance against US President Donald Trump, including the chant "By the blood of the Supreme Leader—we will kill you, Trump!" and women holding signs reading "Kill Trump."

صوت بيروت إنترناشال also described crowds shouting slogans in support of Khamenei and against Iran's enemies, including the old revolutionary motto 'Death to America.'

ABNA English

Kompas reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the United States of trying to cover up the funeral ceremonies of Khamenei, and it said the funeral rites have continued since Saturday.

In parallel, the funeral schedule was shaped by the scale of gatherings, with the Mashhad burial coming after ceremonies in Tehran and Qom and then in Najaf and Karbala.

The same reporting tied the funeral to renewed clashes with the United States after weeks of a ceasefire, saying the burial came a week after a massive funeral and mass gatherings coinciding with renewed clashes.

The funeral unfolded alongside renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, with صدا بيروت إنترناشونال saying the burial came a week after massive funeral ceremonies coinciding with renewed clashes with the United States after weeks of a ceasefire.

Middle East News said the funeral coincided with renewed military escalation as U.S. President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire reached with Iran on June 17 had ended, threatening to launch strong strikes against the country after exchanges of blows following an attack attributed to Iran on three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Middle East News added that CENTCOM announced on Wednesday that the U.S. military carried out new strikes against Iran aimed at undermining its ability to disrupt navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iranian army announced the killing of eight of its personnel as a result of the latest American strikes.

It also stated that Iran’s Health Ministry said the American attacks on July 8 and 9 targeted five Iranian provinces and left 14 people dead and 78 others injured so far.

With the burial in Mashhad marking the end of Khamenei’s decades-long rule, the sources tied the immediate next phase to ongoing tensions, including the continued mutual attacks between the United States and Iran referenced by Kompas.