Iranians Mourn Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Mashhad Burial

Calling for revenge and rejecting any compromise with the West, Iranians loyal to the Islamic republic massed on Thursday late into the night for the burial of supreme leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad, as the country traded more attacks with the US.

Khamenei was buried Friday, state television reported, following a ceremony at which his son and successor was not seen. The “body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza”, state broadcaster IRIB reported.

An Israeli strike killed Khamenei in late February on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, bringing an end to his more than three and a half decades in power.

Beating their chests and weeping, mourners lined the route as they waited for Khamenei’s coffin to arrive at the shrine, the holiest site for Shia Muslims in Iran and the burial place he had chosen in his will.

A helicopter transported the body across the final stretch to the shrine because the main avenue was expected to be crammed with people.

With new hostilities breaking out with the US even after an accord last month to end the war, at least one fighter jet escorted the plane carrying the late Iranian leader’s coffin to Mashhad.