Israeli Strike Kills Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Buried at Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad

Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was buried late on Thursday at the Dar al-Dhikr prayer hall at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in Mashhad, after funeral ceremonies that began last Friday and ran through multiple cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq.

“According to the correspondent of the AhlulBayt (AS) International News Agency — ABNA — from holy Mashhad: at the moment, around the time of the noon call to prayer in Mashhad, while more than two hours remain until the official start of the ceremony, Imam Reza (AS) Street — announced as the main route for the funeral procession of the martyred Imam of the Ummah and his family — is filled with a massive crowd”

ABNA English

IRNA English said the funeral prayer was led by Khamenei’s eldest son, Seyyed Mostafa Khamenei, at the Imam Reza shrine on July 9, 2026.

ABNA English

BBC reported that Khamenei and several members of his family were killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran on 28 February, the first day of Iran’s war with the US and Israel.

BBC also said a plane carrying the coffins of Ali Khamenei, his granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter and Mojtaba’s wife landed in Mashhad after flying from Iraq, where huge crowds took part in processions to two Shia shrines in Najaf and Karbala.

The BBC account said the burial marked the end of six days of public mourning ceremonies in five cities across Iran and neighbouring Iraq.

As the final ceremonies reached Mashhad, state media and other outlets described huge crowds lining the streets and filling the shrine area, with the funeral procession moving along Imam Reza Street toward the Imam Reza Shrine.

ABNA English said Imam Reza (AS) Street was filled with a massive crowd and that, according to the official ceremony committee, the funeral in Mashhad would begin today at 14:00.

Al-Khanadeq

CNN was cited by ANI News as reporting that the country’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was unlikely to attend the public ceremonies.

BBC said many mourners waved Iranian flags and red banners symbolising vengeance and held placards calling for the death of US President Donald Trump, who along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the joint attack on Iran that triggered the war.

ANI News also quoted Trump’s remarks at the NATO summit in Turkey, including his statement: "To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore."

The funeral’s regional sweep was framed by multiple outlets as part of a wider sequence of ceremonies across Iran and Iraq, with Pars Today saying the official farewell and funeral ceremonies began on Friday, July 3, and that on Wednesday Iraqis in Najaf and Karbala held funeral ceremonies described as unprecedented.

“ANI |Updated:Jul 10, 2026 05:13IST Tehran [Iran], July 10 (ANI): FormerIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israel strike, has been laid to rest at the Imam Reza shrine inMashhadas thousands of supporters gathered to pay their final farewells, Press TV reported”

ANI News

Pars Today, citing Iraqi officials, said nearly four million people attended the procession for Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, with numerous Iraqi religious and political figures also taking part.

BBC reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accused the US of bombing two bridges on the railway line from the capital, Tehran, to Mashhad overnight "in an effort to overshadow" the funeral.

BBC also said Trump warned that US attacks could get "much worse" after a second night of strikes on Thursday, which the US military said were intended to degrade Iran’s ability to target commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In the same BBC account, Trump told reporters that he believed the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was now "over", after the MoU had called for an end to hostilities on all fronts and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.