Iranian local sources reported hearing gunfire in the city of Mashhad, coinciding with the burial ceremony of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which resulted in the killing of two members of the Basij forces.
Assistant for Security Affairs in Khorasan Province, Razavi Amir Shamqadri, confirmed that a shooting incident occurred in the Sarafrazan Street area in the city of Mashhad, resulting in the death of two people, noting that the causes of the incident and the identity of the two dead are still unknown, while investigations continue.
Sarafrazan Street is located west of the city of Mashhad, about 17 kilometers from the shrine of Imam Reza, where the funeral and burial ceremonies of the late leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ali Khamenei, were held.
According to preliminary information, the attack was carried out using light weapons, which led to the immediate killing of one Basij member at the site, while the other member died of his wounds in the hospital.
The two perpetrators are still at large, while security forces continue their efforts to identify and arrest them.
Khamenei’s coffin arrived in the city of Mashhad on board a civilian plane accompanied by a military fighter, where tens of thousands gathered to receive him in the last leg of the funeral ceremony that lasted 6 days, and the Iranian authorities described it as an affirmation of the country’s unity and cohesion.
The crowds extended for kilometers to the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, where Khamenei was laid to rest in the shrine, which is considered one of the holiest shrines for Shiites in Iran. The funeral procession also included the coffins of 4 of his family members who were killed with him in the strikes.
The city witnessed a wide security deployment, coinciding with the flight of fighter planes over the scene and the deployment of security personnel on the rooftops of buildings overlooking the funeral route, while banners and drawings were raised during the ceremony, some of which carried direct threats to the American President and the Israeli Prime Minister.
The funeral ceremony concluded, which started from Tehran, passing through the city of Qom, then Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before reaching Mashhad, where Khamenei was buried after more than 3 decades he spent at the head of the Islamic Republic since he assumed the position of Supreme Leader in 1989.
