Tehran, 10 July 2026 (dpa/MIA) - More than four months after his killing, Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been buried, Iranian media reported on Thursday.

The closed-door burial took place at Iran's holiest Shiite shrine, the Imam Reza shrine, in his home city of Mashhad in the north-east of the country, several Iranian media outlets reported. Mourning ceremonies had been under way for around a week. 

Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his official residence in Tehran on February 28, the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran which lasted for more than five weeks until a ceasefire was agreed in early April. Despite the ceasefire and a framework agreement to end the war, there have been repeated mutual attacks and the conflict has heated up once more.

Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed the new head of state but has not appeared in public since being named supreme leader in March, fuelling speculation about his health. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has claimed that he is "wounded and likely disfigured."

Domestically, Khamenei's state relied on control and repression and did not tolerate criticism. During the most recent waves of protests, demonstrators repeatedly chanted: "Death to the dictator."

Under Khamenei, the Revolutionary Guards had developed into the country's leading military force. After his death, the balance of power is being reorganized. Representatives of the powerful Guards have since risen to important political positions.

Days of mourning

According to state figures, millions of people in Iran took part in the days-long mourning ceremonies. As supreme leader, Khamenei had the final say on all key issues in the Islamic Republic. At the same time, the Shiite ayatollah was the state's highest religious authority.

 His supporters venerate him as a martyr who, in their view, fell while resisting a militarily far superior enemy. However, a large proportion of the country's roughly 86 million inhabitants is likely to be indifferent or opposed to the state mourning.

Photo: EPA