'Only revenge': Iran mourners defiant at Khamenei burial

Published Updated

Calling for revenge and rejecting any compromise with the West, Iranians have braved sweltering heat to mass for the burial of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad, AFP reports.

Beating their chests and weeping, mourners line the route as they wait for the assassinated leader’s coffin to arrive at the eastern city’s shrine of Imam Reza, the holiest site for Shia Muslims in Iran and the burial place he had chosen in his will.

Led by the funeral eulogist, they chant slogans against compromise and US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The loss of the leader is heavier than losing our parents,” said Hoda, 35, a housewife attending the funeral. “Only the death of Trump and Netanyahu will soothe our pain. There should be no compromise at all,” she tells AFP.

Crowds of mourners surround the convoy carrying the coffins of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a funeral procession, before he is laid to rest at the Shrine of Imam Reza, Iran’s most revered place of worship, in Mashhad on July 9, 2026. — AFP
Crowds of mourners surround the convoy carrying the coffins of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a funeral procession, before he is laid to rest at the Shrine of Imam Reza, Iran’s most revered place of worship, in Mashhad on July 9, 2026. — AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Gulf flare-up
Updated 09 Jul, 2026

Gulf flare-up

IS the fragile US-Iran ceasefire — and the memorandum of understanding that underpins it — collapsing? Unless...
Costly food
09 Jul, 2026

Costly food

THE recent decline in diesel and LPG prices should have brought some relief to consumers struggling with high food...
Unliveable city
09 Jul, 2026

Unliveable city

IT comes as no surprise. Karachi — Pakistan’s largest city, its financial engine and home to over 20m people —...
Hamas’s move
Updated 08 Jul, 2026

Hamas’s move

THE decision taken by Hamas to relinquish governance of Gaza appears to be designed to put the onus on the US and...
Terrorism threat
Updated 08 Jul, 2026

Terrorism threat

THE surge in terrorist violence in Balochistan highlights the renewed threat confronting Pakistan. The martyrdom of...
Football meddling
08 Jul, 2026

Football meddling

AFTER ending co-hosts America’s World Cup run in the last-16 stage, Belgium felt justice had been served. It was...