Iran Schedules Burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad on July 9

Iran scheduled the burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for 2:30 p.m. local time on July 9, 2026, in Mashhad. His remains reached the city's international airport earlier that day after processions through Tehran and Qom.

More than 2.3 million people joined the funeral procession in Najaf, Iraq, on July 8, according to the Popular Mobilisation Forces. Millions more attended events in Tehran, which Iranian officials called the largest public gathering in the country's modern history. Khamenei was killed along with several relatives in US and Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28.

Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father as Supreme Leader days later but has not appeared in public since taking office. Iranian officials said he was wounded in the same strikes. Crowds in Mashhad waved Iranian flags, photographs of Khamenei and placards with revolutionary slogans.

US and Iranian forces traded attacks for a second day on July 9 despite the promised pause for the funeral. Overnight US strikes disabled the Tehran-Mashhad railway line, yet Iranian officials said the damage did not delay the ceremony. Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, head of the late leader's office, said Khamenei had requested burial in Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza.