- Millions of people are expected to attend funerals in Mashhad.
- Trump warns Iran of ‘much worse’ if attacks continue.
- Burial will take place at the Imam Reza shrine.
MASHHAD: Iranians prepared on Thursday to bury their slain leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, as new US strikes threatened to trigger a new escalation in the Middle East war.
The burial of the late supreme leader followed a multi-day funeral ceremony that attracted millions of mourners to various cities in Iran and Iraq.
But 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 earlier declared the ceasefire between the United States and Iran was over, warned of “much worse” to come if Iran continues hitting ships in the strait.
Khamenei was killed on February 28, the first day of US-Israeli strikes that sparked the war.
After a marathon procession through the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, he was expected to reach his final resting place in the holy city of Mashhad.
Observers are closely watching for any sign of the presence of Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to make a public appearance and is believed to have been injured in the same strike that killed his father.
Mashhad Governor Hassan Hosseini told state television that he “expects 15 million people” to attend Khamenei’s funeral.
The funeral was initially scheduled to begin at 6:00 a.m. (02:30 GMT) on Thursday, but local media later quoted organizers as saying it would begin at 2:00 p.m. due to delays in ceremonies in Iraq.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Khamenei is to be buried Thursday evening at the Imam Reza shrine, 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 series of locations reflecting the religious, political and ideological pillars of the Islamic republic.
His chief of staff, Mohammad Mohammadi-Golpaygani, previously told 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 in various cities, starting with Khamenei’s three-day official lie in the capital Tehran.
The Islamic Republic hopes the ceremony will project strength and unity after the war in the Middle East and six months after the suppression of anti-government protests.
Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989, was killed at the age of 86 along with several members of his family and senior officials in an Israeli strike.
After five weeks of intense hostilities, a fragile ceasefire and first agreement with the United States sought to put the conflict in the Middle East on hold.
But the ceasefire appeared increasingly under threat as US Central Command said it had carried out strikes aimed at degrading Iranian forces’ ability to “threaten freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz – a key bone of contention in US-Iran negotiations.
Calls for restraint were widespread as U.S. forces struck several sites on Iran’s coast in response to Iranian attacks on three ships in the waterway.
Tehran earlier said it had struck US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.
After ceremonies in Tehran, Khamenei’s remains were transported on Tuesday to the religious city of Qom, then on Wednesday to neighboring Iraq, before his burial on Thursday.
He will be buried with his granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter and Zahra Haddad Adel, the wife of Mojtaba Khamenei, all of whom were killed in the February 28 strikes.
