Asian Mail Monitoring Desk
The United States and Iran have exchanged another round of attacks in a conflict that continued through Thursday, while observers reported a dramatic decline in the number of commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States said it had struck 90 military targets, some of them located near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said 14 people had been killed over the past two days.
Iranian state media, citing the deputy governor of Bushehr Province, reported that targets near the Bushehr nuclear power plant had also been hit. Washington has not yet commented on the latest strikes.
Iran said it retaliated by targeting US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Later on Thursday, Tehran said it had also launched strikes on additional locations in Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.
Meanwhile, large crowds gathered in the north-eastern city of Mashhad for the funeral and burial of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Thousands of mourners carrying Iranian flags lined the streets, while some held banners containing threats directed at US President Donald Trump.
According to the report, Khamenei was killed on 28 February, during the opening hours of what Iran described as the initial US and Israeli attacks.
Ali Khamenei Buried at Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad
Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been laid to rest at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, funeral prayers were led by his eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, before the burial took place at 10:00 pm local time.
Iranian authorities said the burial at the Imam Reza Shrine was carried out in accordance with Khamenei’s will and the recommendation of his family.
The name Mashhad means “place of martyrdom,” and the city is regarded as Iran’s holiest destination because it is home to the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Shia Islam. The shrine has a history stretching back centuries and attracts the vast majority of foreign pilgrims visiting Iran.
Iranian state television had earlier announced that funeral prayers in Mashhad would be led by Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani. However, no explanation was given for his absence.
Instead, the prayers were led by Mostafa Khamenei, prompting renewed attention to the absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, another of the late leader’s sons, from the funeral ceremony.
Iranian State Media Claims More Than 41 Million Attended
Iranian state media said that between 41 million and 43 million people attended the six-day funeral and mourning ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
State broadcaster Press TV described the ceremonies as “the largest funeral in world history.”
According to the report, memorial events and funeral ceremonies were held in Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad.
The main ceremony took place at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Complex, where thousands gathered to pay their final respects.
Funeral prayers were led by Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Khamenei, the late leader’s eldest son.
Delegations from Iran’s regional allies also attended the ceremonies, including representatives of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza, Hezbollah from Lebanon, and the Houthis from Yemen.
According to Iranian media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried in the courtyard of the Imam Reza Shrine, four months after what Tehran described as his death in a joint US-Israeli attack.
