Iran buries Supreme Leader Khamenei months after Israeli strike that killed him and family members

Iran buried its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 9 in the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. An Israeli strike killed Khamenei on February 28, the first day of the United States-Israel war on Iran, ending more than three-and-a-half decades of his rule.

Thousands filled the streets of the eastern city during the ceremony, which served as the final act in a six-day series of funeral events held in Tehran, Qom, and Iraq.

The funeral prayer was led by 101-year-old ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani. Khamenei was buried with his infant granddaughter, his son-in-law, his daughter, and Mojtaba Khamenei's wife Zahra Haddad Adel, all killed in the same February 28 strikes. The burial had been scheduled to begin at 6 a.m.

Local time but was delayed until 2 p.m. because ceremonies in Iraq ran late. Mashhad Governor Hassan Hosseini said on Iranian state television that he expects 15 million people to attend the funeral.

Temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius, and water sprinklers were deployed to cool mourners. Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has made no public appearances since the strike and is reported to have been injured in the same attack.