Iran officials ‘afraid to bury’ assassinated Supreme Leader months after death | World | News
May 31, 2019 file photo shows, Son of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, attends a demonstration to mark Jerusalem day in Tehran. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images) (Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Reports suggest that Iranian officials are “afraid to bury” the slain Supreme Leader, months after his death.
Ali Khamenei, 86, was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, which triggered the Iran war with the US — with his son subsequently appointed as his successor.
The cleric’s remains have yet to be interred, breaking with longstanding tradition, according to the New York Post.
A security expert has now claimed that the delay stems from Tehran being too fearful to proceed with the burial.
The last state funeral for his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989 saw millions of Iranians pour into the streets of Tehran in mourning — yet similar shows of grief for Khamenei were largely absent throughout weeks of airstrikes across Iran that claimed many of the regime’s most senior figure.
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According to reports, holding a ceremony would risk potential Israeli airstrikes, nationalist counter-demonstrations akin to the nationwide uprisings earlier this year, and would force the regime to account for the conspicuous absence of Mojtaba Khamenei — Khamenei’s son and the newly appointed supreme leader, who has not been seen publicly since taking office.
“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.”
Iranian officials are now weighing up the remote, northeastern city of Mashhad as a possible burial location, according to state media Fars, The Australian reported.
This video grab taken on January 13, 2026 from UGC images posted on social media on January 10, 2026 shows clashes in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran. A violent crackdown on a wave of protests in Iran has killed at least 648 people, a rights group said on January 12, 2026, as Iranian authorities sought to regain control of the streets with mass nationwide rallies. (Photo by UGC / AFP via Getty Images) / Israel OUT / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT AFP – SOURCE: ANONYMOUS – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS – NO RESALE – NO ARCHIVE – NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NO ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL/RADIO FARDA – AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE’S EDITORIAL CONTENT / (Image: UGC/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian officials are now weighing up the remote, northeastern city of Mashhad as a possible burial location, according to state media Fars, The Australian reported.
Mashhad, which lies on the border with Turkmenistan and is situated far from Israel, is Khamenei’s birthplace and holds both practical and symbolic significance.
One proposal under consideration would see Khamenei laid to rest near the shrine, which benefits from a substantial security presence that would enable protection of the long-serving leader’s final resting place, according to reports.
The Islamic Republic had originally planned a three-day state funeral commencing on March 4, but this never came to fruition after the nation was subjected to extensive Israeli and US bombing campaigns, according to state news agency Irna.
No dates have been confirmed for Khamenei’s burial ceremony.
The US and Iran agreed to a temporary truce on April 8, which is due to expire on Wednesday.
