Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, will be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, according to the Fars news agency.
Khamenei, who led Iran for 36 years, was killed at the age of 86 during a wave of US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.
He was originally from Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, where his father is buried at the revered Imam Reza shrine.
Before the burial, a large farewell ceremony will be held in Tehran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced via its official channels. No burial date has yet been disclosed.
Following Khamenei’s death, power was transferred to a three-member interim council pending the election of a new supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts.
The interim council includes the president, the head of the judiciary, and a jurist drawn from the Guardian Council, which oversees legislation and screens electoral candidates.
According to Fars, citing an official familiar with the matter, the Assembly of Experts’ final meeting to select a successor could be postponed until after Khamenei’s burial for security reasons.
Iranian media also reported that the building housing the 88-member Assembly in Qom was struck Tuesday in US-Israeli attacks, while its main headquarters in Tehran had been hit the previous day.
What you should know
Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest in Mashhad, his hometown, following a farewell ceremony in Tehran.
An interim leadership council is currently overseeing Iran’s affairs as the Assembly of Experts prepares to elect a permanent successor, amid ongoing regional tensions and reported strikes on key institutions.
