US and Israel Airstrike Kills Ali Khamenei as Iran Sets July 4-9 State Funeral

Iran has scheduled state funeral proceedings for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to begin on July 4, with three days of ceremonies in Tehran starting at the prayer hall of Imam Khomenei before a procession leaves on July 6.

“An Iranian official: Khamenei's funeral will be held in three cities and his burial will take place in Mashhad”

ANF

The schedule sets a further ceremony in Qom on July 7 and concludes with burial in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza.

ANF

The funeral arrangements come after Khamenei was assassinated on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel slammed his Tehran compound with airstrike launching the Iran war.

The New York Post says the Islamic Republic dragged its feet on holding farewell ceremonies for more than three months since his death out of fear of being attacked again, and it says the start of the funeral will coincide with the 4th of July.

Hindustan Times similarly reports that Khamenei will be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza on July 9, following funeral ceremonies in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad on July 6, 7 and 9, respectively.

The New York Post links the delay to fear of potential airstrikes and nationalist counter-rallies, and it says Islamic law requiring burial within 24 hours ideally was not followed because the Islamic Republic avoided Khamenei’s funeral for so long.

It also says the Islamic Republic initially planned a three-day state funeral beginning on March 4, but it never materialized once the country was rocked by large-scale Israeli and US bombing campaigns.

Chosunbiz

Hindustan Times reports that Iran’s state funeral was initially planned for March 4 but was postponed due to the war, and it says Iran later planned to hold the three-day funeral in early Muharram.

Hindustan Times adds that Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said the ceremony was postponed until after the first 10 days of Muharram to allow the faithful to complete their annual mourning of the Imam Hussein.

The Express Tribune frames the program as a July 4-9 set of events, with a farewell ceremony in Tehran on July 4-5, funeral ceremonies in Tehran on July 6 and in Qom on July 7, and burial on July 9 in Mashhad.

Multiple reports tie the funeral schedule to the wider political moment after Khamenei’s death, with Chosunbiz saying attention has shifted to succession and that it is a matter of keen interest whether Mojtaba Khamenei will make his first public appearance through the state funeral.

“Funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei set for July 4 in Tehran Burial of the assassinated leader at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad is scheduled for July 9, capping months of delayed national mourning Iran will begin the funeral proceedings for its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 4 in Tehran, more than four months after his assassination during US-Israeli airstrikes”

Crypto Briefing

Chosunbiz says Khamenei ruled from the pinnacle of Iran's theocratic system for 37 years and died at the scene with family members on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, when U.S. and Israeli strikes hit his Tehran residence.

The Express Tribune says the attacks that killed Khamenei began against Iran on February 28 and also killed several senior Iranian military commanders and government officials, while it says a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8.

NDTV Profit reports that the schedule for the state funeral was released by the Committee for the Commemoration of the Ascension of the Mujahid Martyr Imam on June 13, 2026, and it says the ceremonies span Tehran, Qom and Mashhad.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi quotes Tehran’s Deputy Mayor Mohammad Amin Tokhli-zadeh saying, "We are preparing to welcome more than 15 to 20 million people in the capital," and it says the burial place will be at the Imam Reza Shrine.