Khamenei buried in Mashhad as Iran–U.S. tensions rise

By Nathan Morley

Large crowds lined the streets of the holy city of Mashhad on Friday as Iran buried its late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Imam Reza shrine, ending six days of mourning ceremonies held across the country and neighbouring Iraq.

The burial followed an exchange of strikes between Iran and the United States that threatens to derail a deal aimed at ending the war in which Khamenei was killed. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accused the U.S. of bombing two bridges overnight on the rail line linking Tehran and Mashhad.

Khamenei and several members of his family were killed on February 28 in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, the first day of Iran’s war with the U.S. and Israel.

Gaza destruction and unemployment

In other regional news, in Gaza, unemployment surpassed 80% in 2025, compared with 29% in the West Bank, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said ahead of World Population Day.

The global Palestinian population reached about 15.5 million by the end of 2025, including 5.6 million in the Palestinian territories, 6.8 million in Arab countries and 1.9 million in Israel.

The bureau said more than 198,000 buildings in Gaza have been damaged since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted in October 2023, including over 102,000 destroyed.