Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Coffin Flown to Iran for Burial Amid Regional Tensions

Iran's longest-serving Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was flown back to Iran from Iraq on Thursday, with his coffin escorted by a fighter jet, according to Reuters footage. Khamenei's burial is scheduled later in the day in his hometown of Mashhad following a grand funeral ceremony. His coffin was brought from Iraq after funeral rites in the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Footage released by multiple news agencies showed a fighter jet escorting the aircraft carrying the coffin of Iran's topmost family's members. Khamenei served as Iran's second supreme leader from 1989 until his death on February 28 this year. He was killed during Operation Epic Fury, a US military operation carried out in coordination with Israel that targeted senior Iranian leaders. The strike sharply escalated tensions in the region, triggering a wider military confrontation between Iran and the US-Israel alliance, with both sides exchanging missile and drone attacks across the Middle East.

The arrival in Mashhad marked the final stage of a week-long series of mourning events held across Iran and Iraq. Large crowds gathered on the streets of Mashhad as preparations continued for Khamenei's burial at the shrine of Imam Reza, one of Iran's most important religious sites. Footage showed the coffin being moved through crowded streets towards the shrine, with mourners carrying Iranian flags and images of the late leader. Khamenei will be buried alongside his infant granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter and Zahra Haddad Adel, the wife of his son Mojtaba Khamenei, all of whom were killed in the February strikes. The burial prayer is scheduled to be led by Hossein Noori Hamedani, a 101-year-old ayatollah, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Khamenei's chief of staff, Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpaygani, earlier said on state television that the late leader had personally wished to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad. The funeral ceremonies followed several days of mourning across Tehran, the clerical centre of Qom, and the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, where large gatherings were held. The burial comes as tensions between Iran and the United States remain high, with both sides exchanging strikes for a second consecutive day amid renewed concerns over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it had resumed attacks targeting US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar following US strikes on Iranian territory.