Iranians Mourn Death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Amid Calls for Revenge Against West

Calling for revenge and rejecting any compromise with the West, Iranians loyal to the Islamic republic braved sweltering heat on Thursday to mass for the burial of supreme leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad. An Israeli strike killed Khamenei in late February on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, bringing an end to his more than three and a half decades in power. Beating their chests and weeping, mourners lined the route as they waited for Khamenei's coffin to arrive at the eastern city's shrine of Imam Reza, the holiest site for Shia Muslims in Iran and the burial place he had chosen in his will. State TV reported that a helicopter would transport the body across the final stretch to the shrine because the main avenue was expected to be crammed with people. With new hostilities breaking out with the United States even after an accord last month to end the war, at least one fighter jet escorted the plane carrying the late Iranian leader's coffin to Mashhad. The burial is to be the final act in a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies, which have allowed people to pay tribute in Tehran, the clerical hub of Qom and also Iraq. Men wore black shirts while women were clad in black chadors, many waving the red flags that symbolise the search for vengeance in Shia Islam, AFP correspondents said. Led by the funeral eulogist, they chanted slogans against compromise and US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.