The final resting place for the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains undecided as Iranian authorities grapple with security concerns surrounding a potentially massive funeral gathering. Meanwhile, one security analyst suggests the delay stems from Tehran’s apprehension.
Khamenei, aged 86, was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, marking the onset of the Iran war. The late cleric, known for supporting terrorism, has yet to be buried, a significant departure from customary practices.
In contrast, the state funeral for his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989, drew millions into Tehran’s streets in mourning. However, similar tributes for Khamenei have been notably absent, coinciding with weeks of debilitating airstrikes that have targeted several of the regime’s senior leaders.
According to Behnam Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Tehran is currently ill-prepared to conduct such an elaborate memorial service amid the fragile ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.
“In simple terms, the regime is too fearful and too weakened to take the risk,” he remarked.
The regime’s hesitation to hold a ceremony is fueled by concerns over possible Israeli airstrikes, the threat of nationalist counter-protests reminiscent of earlier national uprisings, and the need to address the conspicuous absence of Mojtaba Khamenei. The new supreme leader, and son of the deceased, has not been seen publicly since his succession.
“It speaks volumes that the turnout for the funeral of the regime’s founding father in 1989 was such a massive affair, and yet one generation later his successor is still not able to have a funeral well over a month after his passing,” Taleblu continued.
“The Islamic Republic likes to talk a big game about owning the streets, but a 50-day internet blackout tells you all you need to know. The regime fears the consequences of the truth getting out.”
Now, Iranian officials are considering the remote, northeastern city of Mashhad as a potential burial site, according to state media Fars, The Australian reported.
Mashhad — on the border of Turkmenistan and far removed from Israel — is Khamenei’s hometown and serves both practical and symbolic purposes.
A city of 5 million people, it’s home to one of the holiest sites in Shi’ite Islam — the shrine of Imam Reza which was built in the 9th century and attracts millions for religious pilgrimages each year.
One of the ideas floated would see Khamenei buried near the shrine which has a heavy security presence that would allow protection of the longtime leader’s grave.
The Islamic Republic initially planned a three-day state funeral beginning on March 4, but it never materialized once the country was rocked by large-scale Israeli and US bombing campaigns, according to state news agency Irna.
Those ceremonial plans were then scrapped as the war raged with the theocratic regime claiming the saying the delay was in anticipation of an “unprecedented turnout,” Gulf News reported citing Iran state media.
There are no dates set for Khamenei’s burial ceremony.
The US and Iran signed a temporary truce on April 8, which is set to expire on Wednesday.
