The final stage of the funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the slain supreme leader of Iran, was delayed by several hours on Thursday in his hometown, the holy city of Mashhad, after days of public ceremonies that drew hundreds of thousands of mourners in Iran and Iraq.
The delay was because of large crowds on Wednesday in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, Iranian state media reported on Thursday, hours after a new round of strikes between the United States and Iran. Iranian officials said that U.S. forces had struck two railway bridges on the line between Tehran, the capital, and Mashhad overnight, disrupting passenger services.
The U.S. military did not say whether it had struck the bridges. But the delay, and the apparent disruption for travelers, cast a shadow over the tightly-organized funeral program, which Iran has sought to present as a show of defiance against the United States.
On Thursday, tens of thousands of mourners gathered before dawn in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, filling streets, mosques and the sprawling Imam Reza Shrine, where his body will be buried.
Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, reported that the funeral procession through the city would begin at 2 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. Eastern), eight hours later than planned.
The United States and Iran have ratcheted up their hostilities this week, trading strikes for a second consecutive night after President Trump said on Wednesday that he thought their cease-fire was “over.”
Iranian railway officials said that because of the attack on the railway line, buses would take stranded passengers to Mashhad instead. The authorities had previously said they expected over a million people to attend the final day of the funeral.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported attack.
On Wednesday, a convoy carried Ayatollah Khamenei’s coffin through the streets in Najaf and Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of mourners prayed and weeped for the Shiite Muslim cleric. Iraq is home to the Middle East’s second-largest Shiite Muslim population after Iran.
Crowds began arriving in Mashhad late Wednesday, streaming into the holy city from across Iran and abroad. Long after midnight, the streets around the shrine were packed with people waving Iranian flags, chanting religious slogans and commemorating the life of Ayatollah Khamenei.
Inside the Imam Reza Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, thousands of worshipers kept vigil through the night. Some recited verses from the Quran while others prayed quietly in groups. Families spread blankets and thin carpets across the shrine’s vast courtyards and nearby sidewalks, sleeping where they could as they waited for the funeral ceremonies to begin at daybreak.
As the sun rose, the crowds swelled. Imam Reza Boulevard, the main avenue leading to the shrine, had been closed to traffic and transformed into a sea of mourners. With temperatures climbing quickly, many sought shelter beneath tents or in narrow strips of shade cast by buildings and trees. Volunteers distributed tea and bottled water as giant screens broadcast live images from inside the shrine.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump had told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, that the Iranians authorities had requested a “time out” from the conflict during the funeral proceedings.
But earlier this week, the long-simmering tensions over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that both Iran and the United States said would be reopened following last month’s preliminary cease-fire deal, boiled over. Central Command accused Iranian forces of attacking commercial ships in the strait and said it hit almost 100 Iranian military targets in response.
The gatherings in Mashhad underscored both the religious and political significance of Ayatollah Khamenei’s death. Pilgrims and mourners had traveled not only from across Iran but also from countries with large Shiite populations, including Iraq, Pakistan and India, as well as Senegal and Nigeria. For many, the funeral marked the passing of one of the most influential figures in modern Shiite Islam. For the Iranian government, it was also seen as an opportunity to project an image of unity and resilience at a time of renewed U.S. strikes on the country.
Shawn McCreesh contributed reporting from Ankara, Turkey.