The slain Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been laid to rest in the courtyard of the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
The funeral prayer was led by his eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, while his other brothers stood in the front row. However, the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, did not attend the funeral.
Earlier, Iranian state television had announced that the funeral prayer in Mashhad would be led by Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani, but no explanation was given for his absence.
Following the funeral prayer, grief-stricken mourners bid farewell to the slain leader with tears, laying him to rest with full honor and respect. The atmosphere echoed with prayers and salutations, while scenes of chest-beating and mourning were witnessed.
A massive crowd flooded the streets of Mashhad to pay their final respects to the late Supreme Leader.
According to Iranian media, six days of funeral and mourning ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were held in Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad, with an estimated 43 million people participating.
Iran’s state news agency reported that a condolence gathering for the late Ayatollah Khamenei will be held today at the Shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is expected to attend the ceremony after Maghrib and Isha prayers.
It is worth noting that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s body was flown from Najaf to Mashhad under the escort of Iranian Air Force fighter jets, which accompanied the aircraft carrying his remains to Mashhad Airport.
Prior to that, his body had also been taken to the shrines of Imam Hussein and Hazrat Abbas in Karbala, where funeral prayers were offered. According to the governor’s office, more than seven million mourners attended the funeral procession.
Iranian Media Claims 41–43 Million Attended Final Ceremonies
Iranian state media has claimed that between 41 million and 43 million people participated in the six-day funeral ceremonies for the slain Supreme Leader, describing it as one of the largest public gatherings in the country’s history.
According to Al Jazeera, Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV claimed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral and mourning procession was the largest funeral and public gathering in world history.
The report stated that mourning ceremonies were held across five major cities in Iran and Iraq—Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad—where millions of people took part in different stages of the commemorations.
The official ceremonies began last week at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, where thousands gathered for a final viewing of Khamenei’s coffin. Funeral prayers and mourning processions were subsequently held in several cities.
Iranian media reported that millions joined the processions to express their loyalty to the country’s religious and national leadership, while extensive security arrangements were put in place.
However, the participation figures released by Iranian state media have not been independently verified, and no international organization has published official attendance estimates.
According to analysts, the ceremonies carried exceptional religious and political significance for Iran, with the leadership presenting the large public turnout as a demonstration of national unity.
