- Millions of people are expected to attend the funeral in Mashhad.
- Trump warns Iran of “much worse” things if attacks continue.
- The burial will take place at the Shrine of Imam Reza.
MASHHAD: Iranians prepared on Thursday to bury their slain leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, as fresh US strikes threatened to trigger a new escalation in the Middle East war.
The burial of the late supreme leader follows a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners in several cities in both Iran and Iraq.
But just as the funeral rites reached their final day, the United States launched new strikes against Iran in retaliation for attacks on shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump, who had previously said the US ceasefire with Iran was over, warned that “much worse” would come if Iran continued to attack ships in the strait.
Khamenei was assassinated on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli strikes that started the war.
After a marathon procession through the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, he was due to reach his final resting place in the holy city of Mashhad.
Observers have been closely watching for any sign of Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to make public appearances and is said to have been wounded in the same attack that killed his father.
Mashhad Governor Hassan Hosseini was quoted on state television as saying he “expects 15 million people” to attend Khamenei’s funeral.
The funeral was originally scheduled to begin on Thursday at 6:00 am (0230 GMT), but local media later quoted organizers as saying it would begin at 2:00 pm because the ceremonies in Iraq had been delayed.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Khamenei will be buried Thursday night at the Shrine of Imam Reza, Iran’s most revered place of worship. Imam Reza is the only one of the 12 imams buried in Iran.
Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies included a number of locations reflecting the religious, political and ideological pillars of the Islamic republic.
His chief of staff, Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpaygani, had previously said on state television that Khamenei himself had wanted to be buried in Mashhad.
Several notable figures have been buried at the shrine over the centuries, including several former Iranian shahs, as well as former president Ebrahim Raisi.
massive crowds
The ceremony has so far drawn massive crowds of people in several cities, beginning with Khamenei’s three days in tomb state in the capital, Tehran.
The Islamic republic hopes the ceremony will project strength and unity after the Middle East war and six months after the crackdown on anti-government protests.
Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989, was killed at age 86 along with several members of his family and senior officials in an Israeli attack.
After five weeks of intense hostilities, a fragile ceasefire and an initial agreement with the United States attempted to suspend the Middle East conflict.
But the ceasefire appeared increasingly threatened when US Central Command said it had carried out strikes to degrade the ability of Iranian forces to “threaten freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz, a key point of contention in US-Iran talks.
Calls for restraint abounded as U.S. forces attacked multiple sites on Iran’s coast in response to Iranian attacks on three ships in the waterway.
Tehran previously said it had attacked US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Following ceremonies in Tehran, Khamenei’s remains were transported to the clerical city of Qom on Tuesday and then to neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, before his burial on Thursday.
He will be buried with his young granddaughter, his son-in-law, his daughter and Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who were killed in the February 28 attacks.
