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Iran says funeral for late Supreme Leader Khamenei to begin July 4, burial set for July 9
The burial will take place in the late Supreme Leader’s hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, after originally being scheduled for March but being postponed due to the war
- PUBLISHED: Sat 13 Jun 2026, 3:13 PM UPDATED: Sat 13 Jun 2026, 7:51 PM
- By:
- AFP
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Iran's slain former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before being killed by Israeli and US airstrikes on February 28, will be buried on July 9, state television reported Saturday.
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The burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, initially scheduled for March but postponed due to the war, will follow three days of funeral ceremonies in capital Tehran beginning July 4 and another in the holy city of Qom on July 7, it said.
July 4, the start date of the national funeral, will coincide with the United States' Independence Day, which this year celebrates its 250th anniversary.
Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, succeeded him as supreme leader in early March, the third since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Mojtaba Khamenei, wounded in the strikes that killed his father and numerous other officials, has not appeared in public since his appointment and communicates only through statements attributed to him.
Who was Ali Khamenei?
Aged 86, Khamenei dominated Iran for the last three-and-a-half decades since taking on the post for life in 1989 as leader of the Islamic Republic following the death of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
He remained in power after overcoming 1999 student demonstrations, 2009 mass protests sparked by disputed presidential elections and 2019 demonstrations that were brutally suppressed.
He also survived the 2022-2023 "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement sparked by the death in custody of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
Khamenei was forced to go into hiding during the 12-day war against Israel in June, which exposed deep Israeli intelligence penetration of the Islamic Republic that led to the killing of key security officials in air strikes.
But he survived that war and, after nationwide protests again shook Iran earlier this year, he emerged defiant as ever.
Why did Ali Khamenei never set foot outside Iran?
Khamenei lived under the tightest security, and his relatively infrequent public appearances were never announced in advance or broadcast live.
As supreme leader he never set foot outside the country, a precedent set by Khomeini following his triumphant return to Tehran from France in 1979.
Khamenei's last known foreign trip was an official visit to North Korea in 1989 as president, where he met Kim Il Sung.
There had long been speculation about his health given his age, but there was nothing in his most recent appearance to fuel any new rumours.
Khamenei's right arm was partially paralysed following an assassination attempt in 1981 that authorities have always blamed on the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) group, one-time allies of the revolution now outlawed in the country.