Iran is set to bury slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad after a week of funeral processions and mourning ceremonies across Iran and Iraq.
The ceremony comes as U.S. and Iranian forces continue exchanging attacks.
Iranian officials said overnight strikes on the Tehran-Mashhad railway did not delay the funeral.
Iran to Bury Late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Mashhad After Week of Funeral Processions
Iranian officials said millions joined funeral events in Tehran, while Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces said more than 2.3 million people participated in the procession in Najaf.
Summary
Iran prepared on Thursday to bury slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad, bringing to a close a week of funeral processions and mourning ceremonies held across Iran and neighbouring Iraq.
The burial comes after days of mass rallies and commemorations following Khamenei's killing in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, which also killed several members of his family.
Khamenei's remains arrived at Mashhad International Airport on Thursday after funeral processions in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, according to footage published by Iran's official IRNA news agency.
Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, said more than 2.3 million people took part in the funeral procession in Najaf alone.
Before reaching Mashhad, Khamenei's coffin, along with those of four family members killed in the strikes, was carried through Tehran and the Shia holy city of Qom.
Iranian media, including Tasnim news agency and Press TV, reported that millions attended the procession in Tehran, with officials describing it as the "largest public gathering in the country's modern history."
Thousands gathered in Mashhad on Thursday, waving Iranian flags, holding portraits of Khamenei and carrying placards bearing revolutionary slogans.
Some mourners also chanted anti-U.S. slogans directed at U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I swear by the blood of the supreme leader, Trump, we will kill you," protesters chanted, while some women held placards reading "Kill Trump".
The burial ceremony comes as fighting between the United States and Iran continued for a second day despite an earlier pause in U.S. military action announced to allow Khamenei's funeral.
Iranian state television said the burial ceremony had been delayed until 2:30 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) because larger-than-expected crowds had slowed funeral processions in Iraq.
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Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera said Iranian officials confirmed that overnight U.S. strikes on the Tehran-Mashhad railway line, which disrupted rail services, had not delayed the burial.
Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, head of Khamenei's office, said the late leader had requested to be buried in Mashhad near the shrine of Imam Reza, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran's supreme leader, has not appeared publicly since taking office following the assassination. Iranian officials have said he was wounded in the strikes that killed his father, but have not disclosed the extent of his injuries.
(inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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