Starting on July 3, millions of mourners are expected to take part in seven days of funeral ceremonies and processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with religious rites planned across cities in Iran and Iraq.
The burial, initially scheduled for March, was postponed as the US and Israeli war with Iran continued, reports Al Jazeera.
Khamenei, 86, was killed alongside several family members in a joint US-Israeli air strike on his compound on February 28, the first day of the war.
Who was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Iran from 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the Islamic Revolution a decade earlier and became the country’s first Supreme Leader.
While Khomeini was the ideological force behind the revolution that ended the Pahlavi monarchy, Khamenei played a central role in shaping Iran’s military and paramilitary structures.
The funeral will also mark the first major state ceremony under his successor and son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of public view since the US-Israel war began four months ago.
Seven days of funeral rites
A seven-day programme of funeral ceremonies will be held across Iran and Iraq, beginning in Tehran on July 3, when global leaders, senior officials, religious figures and scholars are expected to pay their respects.
July 4 and 5
Public funeral ceremonies will take place in Tehran on July 4 and 5. The coffin, along with those of several family members, will lie in state at the Grand Mosalla for public farewell. The complex, one of Iran’s largest prayer venues, has long hosted major religious and state events.
July 6 and 7
On July 6 and 7, funeral processions will move through other parts of Tehran before continuing to Qom, around 120km south of the capital.
Qom is Iran’s leading centre of Shia Islamic scholarship and one of its holiest cities, home to major seminaries where thousands of clerics study and teach, including the late Khamenei.
July 8
Iranian and Iraqi officials say an official reception will be held at Najaf International Airport on July 8, followed by public processions in Najaf and Karbala.
The Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam and is believed to house the tomb of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Imam.
The shrines of Imam Hussein and Abbas in Karbala mark the site of the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, where Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet, and Abbas were killed — an event central to Shia religious identity.
July 9
The body will return to Iran for the final burial on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.
Mashhad is Iran’s holiest city. Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Shia Islam, is buried there.
The city also holds personal significance for Khamenei, who was born in Mashhad in 1939 and spent his early years there before studying in its seminaries and later in Qom.
Burial near one of Shia Islam’s most revered figures is considered a major honour, reflecting Khamenei’s dual role as both political leader and senior religious authority.
