Slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei yet to be buried. Are Iranian officials too 'afraid' to do so?

The burial of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains unresolved more than a month after his death, as Iranian officials continue to assess security risks around holding a large public funeral.Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, an attack that escalated into a broader conflict involving Iran. Despite established traditions, his remains have not yet been laid to rest.Iran had initially planned a three-day state funeral beginning March 4, but those plans were abandoned as the country came under heavy US and Israeli bombing. Officials later said the delay was due to expectations of an “unprecedented turnout.”

However, no date has since been set for the ceremony.In contrast, the 1989 funeral of his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, drew millions of mourners into the streets of Tehran. Similar scenes have not followed Khamenei’s death, particularly as weeks of airstrikes targeted senior figures within the regime.According to Behnam Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran is currently in no position to organise such a large-scale ceremony.

“Simply put, the regime is too afraid and too weak to roll the dice,” he said.Officials are weighing multiple concerns, including the risk of Israeli airstrikes, the possibility of nationalist counter-rallies similar to earlier uprisings this year, and the absence of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has reportedly taken over as supreme leader but has not been seen publicly.“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 added, as quoted by New York Post.“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.”State media reports indicate that officials are considering Mashhad as a possible burial site. Located near the border with Turkmenistan and far from Israel, Mashhad is also Khamenei’s hometown.The city, home to around 5 million people, contains the Imam Reza shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shi’ite Islam and a major destination for religious pilgrims. One proposal under discussion would place Khamenei’s burial near the shrine, where a strong security presence is already in place.Meanwhile, a temporary truce between the United States and Iran, signed on April 8, remains in effect but is set to expire on Wednesday.