Iran buries Supreme Leader Khamenei in Mashhad as crowds gather

Former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s coffin, wrapped in a flag, was carried into the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, his hometown in eastern Iran, amid a large crowd of mourners. The procession, which moved through the shrine’s courtyard, was accompanied by prayers and the solemn chanting of the faithful, while the public watched from outside the complex.

The ceremony was marked by the absence of Khamenei’s son, successor Ali Reza Mojtaba Khamenei, who did not attend the funeral rites. The event drew thousands of people who gathered to pay respects to the former leader, whose death has prompted a nationwide period of mourning and a formal state funeral.

As the flag‑covered coffin was lowered into the shrine’s sacred precinct, the crowd dispersed, and the shrine’s doors remained closed to the public, concluding the solemn tribute to the former Supreme Leader.