Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli attack in Tehran on Saturday, will be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, his birthplace. The information was reported by Iran’s Fars News Agency on Tuesday. The exact date of the burial has not yet been announced. Khamenei’s father is also buried in the Imam Reza shrine complex in Mashhad.
Before the burial, a large farewell ceremony will be held in the capital, Tehran, according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), though no details of the program have been released. Khamenei, 86, had served as Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989, following his role in the Islamic Revolution under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his presidency during the Iran-Iraq war.
During his nearly 37-year rule, Khamenei faced multiple political and economic challenges, including widespread protests over the sharp fall of the Iranian rial that began in December last year and spread nationwide.