ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, will be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic for 36 years, was killed at 86 during a wave of US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.
Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city, holds deep personal meaning for the cleric. It is his birthplace. His father is buried at the revered Imam Reza shrine.
Before the burial, authorities say a “large farewell ceremony” will be held in Tehran. The announcement came via the Telegram account of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
No burial date has been announced.
In the power vacuum left behind, leadership has been handed to a three-man interim council pending the election of a successor by the Assembly of Experts.
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The temporary body includes the president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council, the powerful institution that vets legislation and electoral candidates.
Fars reported, citing an official familiar with the process, that “for security reasons,” the Assembly’s final meeting may be delayed until after Khamenei’s burial.
Meanwhile, Iranian media said the building housing the 88-member Assembly in the holy city of Qom was struck Tuesday by US-Israeli attacks. Its main headquarters in Tehran was reportedly hit a day earlier.
Iran now stands at a moment of mourning and transition.