DUBAI — Iran has announced that the funeral of its late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4, with burial scheduled for July 9 in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, according to state media reports cited by Reuters on Saturday, even as international mediators say a US-Iran peace deal is nearing completion.
The funeral will include multiple ceremonies, including a key service on July 7 in the religious center of Qom, south of Tehran, marking a rare extended state mourning period for the longtime Iranian leader.
Khamenei, 86, was killed on February 28 during joint Israeli and US airstrikes that targeted Iran in the opening phase of the current conflict. He had led the Islamic Republic for 36 years, shaping its regional strategy and consolidating its influence across the Middle East through allied armed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.
State media reports said the delayed burial arrangements reflect wartime conditions, despite Islamic tradition generally requiring burial within 24 hours of death. Exceptions are permitted under extraordinary circumstances, including armed conflict.
Khamenei’s death marked a turning point in the ongoing war, which has seen sustained military exchanges involving Iran, Israel, and US forces, and has contributed to heightened instability across the region. During his tenure, he was a leading critic of the United States and oversaw decades of tension over Iran’s nuclear program, a central issue in long-running diplomatic disputes with Washington.
Following his death, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in the same airstrike that struck the family compound in central Tehran, was reported by Iranian sources to have assumed the role of Supreme Leader.
The announcement of funeral arrangements comes as diplomatic momentum builds toward a possible end to hostilities. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that Iran and the United States have agreed on a framework for a peace deal after more than three months of war and are expected to sign an initial agreement within 24 hours.
Sharif, whose government has been acting as a mediator, said the deal would be followed by technical-level negotiations in the coming weeks to finalize outstanding issues.
The overlapping developments highlight a rapidly shifting political landscape in the region, where military escalation, leadership transition in Tehran, and renewed diplomatic engagement are occurring simultaneously.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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