Loading dispatches...
← Return to NewsroomEconomy
Funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be held on July 9 in Mashhad: Here is why the date is significant
Breaking
Cornell president says university 'must do better' after frat house rape allegations
The funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 37 years and was killed on February 28, will start on July 4 in Tehran and culminate on July 9 in Mashhad. His burial, after a 131-day delay, is unusual under Islamic law.Schoolgirls display a poster of slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an anti-US and Israeli demonstration in Baghdad on March 12, 2026. (AFP)Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the longest-serving Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, will be laid to rest on July 9, the state media announced on Saturday. According to the announcement, Ali Khamenei’s funeral will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in his hometown, in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, on July 9.Funeral after 131 daysThe 86-year-old who ruled Iran for nearly 37 years was killed on February 28, in the opening hours of the US-Israeli attack on Tehran. Ali Khamenei will be buried 131 days after he was killed, something unusual under Islamic law, which requires the deceased to be buried as soon as possible, and ideally within 24 hours of death. But exceptions are allowed, for example, in times of war. Initially, it was reported that Ali Khamenei's funeral would take place in Tehran and Mashhad from 4 to 6 March 2026, but it was postponed due to the war.Significance of July 9According to state media, Ali Khamenei's funeral arrangements will include ceremonies on July 7 in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. The funeral ceremony will begin in Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla on July 4 and 5, corresponding to the 19th and 20th days of Muharram.A funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for July 6, followed by another procession in Qom on July 7. The final funeral ceremony will be held in the holy city of Mashhad on July 9, coinciding with the eve of the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Sajjad, the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the fourth Imam in Shia Islam.Ali Khamenei was killed along with familyAyatollah Ali Khamenei was killed alongside several members of his immediate family and key Iranian military officials during joint US-Israel airstrikes on his Tehran office-cum-residence compound.This includes his daughter Boshra Khamenei, his daughter-in-law Zahra Haddad-Adel, son-in-law Mesbah Bagheri Kani, and granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.Where is Mojtaba Khamenei?Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was also reportedly injured in the attack but survived, was made his father’s successor as the new Supreme Leader of Iran just days later.Since his appointment as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public, and there have been speculations that he could have been incapacitated, and that Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is in charge of the country, claims which the leadership in Tehran has repeatedly rejected.US-Iran close to reaching peace dealThe announcement of the funeral date of Ali Khamenei coincided with progress in the US-Iran peace talks. On Saturday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Iran and the United States had agreed on a framework for a peace deal after more than three months of war and are expected to sign the initial deal in the next 24 hours.Iran, while acknowledging that progress has been made, ruled out signing the Islamabad Memorandum on Sunday."We have to wait and see about the exact time of signing; although it will not be tomorrow," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to the IRNA news agency."The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out," he added, after mediator Pakistan said Iran and the United States could finalise the deal within 24 hours.Key TakeawaysAli Khamenei's funeral marks a significant historical event in Iran, coinciding with potential geopolitical changes.The unusual delay in burial reflects the ongoing turmoil and war conditions in the region.The Khamenei legacy and succession may impact Iran's future r
The US killed the leader of the Tren De Aragua drug cartel, Niño Guerrero, in a strike that was carried out with the assistance of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said.US Kills Tren de Aragua Leader Guerrero in Strike on Compound(Bloomberg) -- The US killed the leader of the Tren De Aragua drug cartel, Niño Guerrero, in a strike that was carried out with the assistance of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said. “The United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero,” the president said on Truth Social Friday night. The post was accompanied by an video, shot from overhead, of a building with a green roof being consumed in a massive explosion.“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well,” Trump added. “As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else.” Trump designated the group as a terrorist organization as one of his earliest acts after returning to office last year. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that Guerrero, 43, had been “confirmed killed” in a strike on a gang compound in Venezuela. He didn’t say specify the location of the compound.After starting in a prison in Venezuela more than a decade ago, Tren de Aragua spread across Latin America and entered the US in part through its participation in human trafficking and undocumented migration. It is also involved in extortion, weapons trafficking, prostitution, illegal mining, robbery and kidnapping. Some its senior leaders are thought to be outside Venezuela.The killing marks the most significant US operation yet against the gang and underscores growing security cooperation between Washington and Caracas following the US-led removal of President Nicolás Maduro in January.Earlier: Venezuela Moves to Open Power Sector to Private InvestmentIn a federal indictment last December, prosecutors in New York charged Guerrero, whose real name is Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, with racketeering, terrorism, drug smuggling and other counts.A $5 million reward had been offered for information leading to his arrest, according to a statement by the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.“Guerrero Flores operated Tren de Aragua like a multinational crime syndicate—laundering money through cryptocurrency, trafficking drugs by the ton, selling weapons of war, and orchestrating acts of terror across borders,” Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Louis A. D’Ambrosio said in the statement. “He ran this empire from prison, shielded by corruption, and in collaboration with a narco-state cartel intent on flooding the United States with cocaine.” Born in the central city of Maracay, Guerrero accumulated criminal charges beginning in the early 2000s and escaped from prison multiple times. He later emerged as the leader of Tren de Aragua, transforming the group from a prison gang based in Tocorón prison into a transnational criminal organization with operations across Latin America and beyond.Trump accused Venezuela, under then Maduro, of being a haven for Tren de Aragua and other narcotics organizations.Maduro is being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn after being indicted on charges that include allegedly collaborating with Tren de Aragua and other criminal organizations.--With assistance from Josh Wingrove and Nicolle Yapur.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com©2026 Bloomberg L.P.Get Latest real-time updatesStay updated with the latest Trending, India , World and US news. HomeNewsUS Kills Tren de Aragua Leader Guerrero in Strike on CompoundMore
Discussion (0)