Watch: Iran shares video showing Khamenei’s battered compound after US-Israeli strikes
Iranian state media has released footage purportedly showing the extent of damage inside the residence compound of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offering the first interior view of the site following the US-Israeli strikes that killed him during the recent war.The 49-second video, broadcast by Iranian state television and published on Khamenei’s official website, shows extensive damage at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya, the prayer hall attached to the Supreme Leader’s official residence in central Tehran. The footage captures piles of rubble, twisted steel beams and debris scattered across the complex, which Iran says was hit during joint US-Israeli airstrikes.While satellite imagery of the damaged compound emerged shortly after the strike, this is the first time Iranian authorities have released footage from inside the site.The video comes as Iran prepares to bury Khamenei, bringing to a close six days of funeral ceremonies held across Iran and Iraq.According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, Khamenei’s coffin was flown from the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to Mashhad in north-eastern Iran on Thursday, where he is set to be laid to rest at the Imam Reza shrine, his birthplace. Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, the head of Khamenei’s office, said the late leader had requested to be buried near the revered shrine.Earlier this week, Iran began a funeral procession through Tehran, with Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, along with those of family members reportedly killed in the opening Israeli-US strike, carried through the capital before being flown to Mashhad. Authorities shut roads, closed airspace and suspended normal activity to facilitate the ceremonies, which officials said were intended to demonstrate public support for the country’s leadership.
