Iran: Unprecedented Crowds at Burial of Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
Mashhad, July 9, 2026Following six days of funeral proceedings, Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried on Thursday in the northeastern city of Mashhad, within the shrine complex of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia imam. Hundreds of thousands gathered in Mashhad’s streets, many waving Iranian flags, while some carried banners calling for retaliation…
Mashhad, July 9, 2026
Following six days of funeral proceedings, Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried on Thursday in the northeastern city of Mashhad, within the shrine complex of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia imam. Hundreds of thousands gathered in Mashhad’s streets, many waving Iranian flags, while some carried banners calling for retaliation against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Khamenei was killed in the opening hours of the war between Iran and the U.S./Israel in February. His body lay in state in Tehran before being taken to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq. Iranian officials claim roughly 15 million people paid tribute during the mourning period.
U.S. strikes disrupted the Tehran-Mashhad rail line, forcing many mourners to travel by bus instead. Iranian state media also released footage of Khamenei’s residence, which had been struck on the first day of the war, killing him and several family members.
Separately, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed missile and drone strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait (Ali Al Salem, Camp Arifjan) and Bahrain (Sheikh Isa, Al Jufair), calling it retaliation for an alleged U.S. ceasefire violation, and warned of wider strikes on regional U.S. bases. Kuwaiti and Bahraini authorities confirmed activating air defenses and sounding emergency sirens.
