After leading Iran for 37 years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will make his final journey home. Iranian authorities have confirmed that the slain Supreme Leader will be laid to rest in Mashhad, the city where he was born, where his father is buried, and where one of the holiest shrines in all of Shia Islam stands.
Khamenei, who led the country for 36 years, was killed at the age of 86 during a wave of US-Israeli attacks on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Before his burial, a large farewell ceremony will be held in Tehran, after which his body will be taken to Mashhad.
The burial is expected to take place behind the shrine of Imam Reza, the same spot where Khamenei’s own father is buried.
Mashhad’s name itself carries deep meaning, it translates to “the place where Imam Reza was martyred.” The city’s prominence grew entirely around the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, regarded as the eighth Imam in Twelver Shia Islam. Today, it draws millions of pilgrims every single year, making it one of the most visited religious sites anywhere in the world.
Iran declared 40 days of national mourning following Khamenei’s killing. A symbolic funeral procession was also held in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, where thousands of mourners carried a symbolic coffin around the sacred shrine of Imam Ali.
After Khamenei’s death, power was handed to a three-member interim council comprising the president, the head of the judiciary, and a jurist from the Guardian Council, who will govern until the Assembly of Experts formally elects a new Supreme Leader.
Reports indicate that Mojtaba Khamenei, the eldest son of Ali Khamenei, has been named as Iran’s new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts.
For millions of Shia Muslims worldwide, Mashhad was always sacred. Now, with Khamenei resting beside the shrine of Imam Reza, it carries the weight of both ancient faith and modern history together.
