The remains of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest at a revered Shiite shrine in his hometown of Mashhad, according to a report published Tuesday by the Fars news agency.
The agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, reported that the burial is expected to take place behind the shrine of Imam Reza, similar to Khamenei’s father.
The mausoleum of the eighth Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, Iran’s state religion, is considered the country’s most important Shiite shrine and attracts millions of pilgrims annually. The complex in Mashhad serves not only as a religious centre but also as a symbol of national identity and clerical authority in the Islamic Republic.
Prior to this, a public ceremony was planned in Tehran. The event is expected to draw senior political leaders, military officials, clerics, and large crowds of mourners from across the country.
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Details of the procedure and schedule are to be announced later. Security is expected to be significantly heightened in both Tehran and Mashhad amid concerns over regional tensions following his death.
Mashhad, a metropolis with a population of about 3 million in the north-east of the country, is the second-largest city in Iran. Khamenei was born there on April 19, 1939, and began his early religious education in the city before rising through the clerical ranks.
He died in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday in Tehran. Iranian state media said the strike targeted a high-level security meeting in the capital, resulting in multiple casualties among senior officials.
The Israeli government has not publicly detailed the operational specifics of the strike, but regional observers described it as one of the most consequential escalations in recent years between the two adversaries. The attack reportedly hit a secure compound in Tehran where Khamenei was meeting top military commanders.
Khamenei, who became Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1989 following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, wielded ultimate authority over the country’s political, military, and religious institutions for more than three decades. His tenure was marked by prolonged tensions with Western nations, expanding regional influence, and repeated confrontations with Israel.
dpa/NAN
