Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad on Friday, ending six days of public mourning ceremonies. According to the BBC, hundreds of thousands of mourners flocked to the shrine overnight, eager to pay their respects to the 85-year-old leader who died on Tuesday.
Huge crowds in Mashhad gather overnight to pay respects to the late supreme leader.
The burial was a solemn and sombre occasion, with many people clad in black. In a statement, officials announced that Khamenei's body was placed in a mausoleum within the shrine, marking the end of the mourning period. The Imam Reza shrine is Iran's holiest Shia Muslim site, attracting millions of pilgrims each year. Khamenei, who served as Iran's top leader since 1989, will be remembered for his strong stance on key issues such as Iranian nuclear development and international relations. He will be succeeded by Ebrahim Raisi, who took office in August 2021.
Iran's current vice president, Ebrahim Raisi, will take over as the country's new leader.
In a rare public address on Tuesday, Khamenei called for national unity and perseverance, urging people to stand firm in the face of economic and political challenges. His words were met with widespread applause, and many see his funeral as a testament to the enduring legacy of the man who shaped Iran's politics for nearly four decades. As the country now enters a new chapter under Raisi's leadership, many questions remain about the future of Iran's relations with the international community. Will Khamenei's successor continue to pursue Iran's contentious nuclear programme? And how will the new administration tackle the country's economic woes? Only time will tell, but for now, the focus remains on mourning the loss of a leader who dominated Iranian politics for so long.