US-Iran war: Tehran buries former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Mashhad as fighting with Washington intensifies

Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried in Tehran's holiest shrine, over four months after he was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the US-Israeli military campaign in late February.

Ali Khamenei has been buried at the Imam Reza shrine in his hometown of Mashhad in eastern Iran. His burial took place after a second day of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, raising fears of a return to full-blown war, AFP reported, citing state media.

Tehran's state broadcaster IRIB reported that the "body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza."

Tehran's chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Khamenei's eldest son Mostafa Khamenei were all present at the Imam Reza shrine, with some senior figures weeping over Khamenei's coffin, as shown in state TV images.

As Khamenei's flag-covered coffin was carried into the Imam Reza shrine, a sea of people waited outside and listened to prayers. Like on the previous days of the funeral process, there was no public appearance by his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has only communicated through written statements since being named Supreme Leader and is said to have been wounded in the February 28 strikes.

US-Iran trade strikes

As the US and Iran traded strikes again, Iranian officials reported that Washington airstrikes killed at least 17 people, with state media reporting that one of the strikes targeted a section of the railway line between Tehran and Mashhad, which is 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Mashhad, prompting the closure of the line. Following the attack and the subsequent closure of the railway line, passengers were transferred to buses.

The Islamic Republic on Thursday said that it has resumed attacks on US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, as sirens blared in Jordan, another American ally, where the military said it intercepted at least eight missiles launched from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it targeted a Patriot missile system in Kuwait, an early warning system in Qatar, and fuel tanks in Bahrain with drones. However, a US official said the dozens of missiles and drones launched by Tehran were either intercepted or reported no significant damage, with no injuries to any American personnel.

Separately, the US military launched attacks targeting the perimeter of Iran's only civilian nuclear plant, state media reported, citing the deputy governor of Bushehr province.

Iran also reported that on Thursday (local time), a projectile hit a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr; however, a US official said the US military was not currently carrying out strikes on the Islamic Republic.

Earlier on Wednesday (local time), US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire was "over," but added that he would not prevent negotiations from going ahead.

Israel preparing another attack on Iran?

At a military ceremony on Thursday, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Tel Aviv was ready to attack the Islamic Republic for a "third time" if needed, vowing to do so "with even greater force".

Israel first attacked Iran last year in June when it targeted the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites in a conflict that continued for roughly two weeks before Washington intervened and halted the strikes. The second attack came earlier this year during a joint operation with Washington.

The latest escalation came days after Tehran targeted another commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that has been a key point of contention in negotiations between the two sides. Iran has insisted on controlling the waterway, despite it remaining open to free passage before the war began.

(with agency inputs)