Martyred Leader Laid to Rest in Mashhad after Massive Farewell, Funeral Ceremonies

The body was received by a massive crowd from across Iran and dozens of countries around the world when it arrived in Mashhad on Thursday afternoon.

Millions of mourners bought several days of nationwide mourning to their climax in Mashhad, as the final farewell ceremony for martyred Imam concluded at the holy mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS).

Also present were senior officials and political figures, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mosheni Ejei, former vice president Mohammad Mokhber and Mashhad Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Seyed Ahmad Alamolhoda.  

The ceremony included the final funeral prayers offered over the body of the martyred Leader. The prayers were led by his son Ayatollah Seyed Mostafa Khamenei.

According to reports, the burial place of the martyred Leader is in the mausoleum’s Dar al-Dhikr Rawaq (hallway).

The arrival of the body in Mashhad today followed unprecedented funeral ceremonies in Iraq. In Najaf, an estimated 3.8 million mourners gathered around the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS) for a massive farewell procession before the body was transferred to Karbala along the Arbaeen route.

The Iraqi ceremonies came after large-scale farewell gatherings in Tehran and Qom, where millions of Iranians paid tribute to Ayatollah Khamenei before his body was taken to Iraq at the request of Iraqi religious scholars.

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei was martyred in a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026, at the outset of a 40-day war of aggression against Iran. His martyrdom triggered widespread mourning across the region and the world./tasnim