© picture alliance/dpa | Ameer Al-Mohammedawi
The body of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed by the U.S., arrived on Thursday in Mashhad, a city in eastern Iran. Following a funeral procession that began last Friday and passed through Tehran, Qom, and the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, among other places, he will be buried in Mashhad, his hometown.
Khamenei was killed on February 28 in a U.S.-Israeli attack. The funeral drew widespread public support, as people took to the streets calling for revenge against the United States.
The funeral was delayed due to ongoing U.S. attacks and damage to rail lines, which complicated logistics.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether his son and presumed successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, will attend the funeral. He is reported to have been seriously injured in the February attack and has not appeared in public since. Last Sunday, three of Khamenei’s sons mourned around their father’s coffin at the Grand Mosalla Mosque in Tehran, but there was no sign of Mojtaba.
Ali Khamenei, who lived to be 86, became Iran’s Supreme Leader in 1989 following the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
He maintained a firm grip on Iranian politics and the armed forces and suppressed domestic opposition, sometimes using force. In foreign policy, he consistently took a hard line, particularly in Iran’s confrontations with the U.S. and Israel.
Picture: © picture alliance/dpa | Ameer Al-Mohammedawi