Iran has announced that slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei will be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, his birthplace and one of the country’s most sacred destinations.
The 86-year-old, who led the Islamic Republic for 36 years, was killed during a wave of US-Israeli attacks on Saturday, according to Iranian state-linked media.
The Fars news agency reported on Tuesday that Khamenei will be laid to rest in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, where his father is buried at the revered Imam Reza shrine.
Before the burial, authorities will hold a “large farewell ceremony” in Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said via its Telegram channel. However, officials have not yet disclosed the burial date.
Interim leadership in place
Following Khamenei’s death, power has been transferred to a three-man interim council pending the election of a new supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts.
The interim body comprises the president, the head of the judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council, which supervises legislation and vets electoral candidates.
Fars, citing an official familiar with the process, reported that the Assembly’s final meeting may be delayed until after Khamenei’s burial for security reasons.
Iranian media also reported that the Assembly of Experts’ building in Qom was struck on Tuesday during US-Israeli attacks. Its main headquarters in Tehran was reportedly hit a day earlier.
