Ammon News - The funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 and ​conclude with his burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, ‌on July 9, state media reported on Saturday.

Khamenei was killed on the first day of Israeli and U.S. airstrikes against Iran on February 28. The 86-year-old cleric had been at the helm ​of the Islamic Republic for 36 years.

The funeral arrangements will include ​ceremonies on July 7 in the holy city of ⁠Qom, south of Tehran, media said.

During his rule, Khamenei built Iran into a powerful anti-U.S. force, spreading its military ​sway across the Middle East through proxy forces such as ​Hezbollah in Lebanon, while using an iron fist to crush outbreaks of unrest ‌at ⁠home.

Khamenei remained a strong critic of the United States throughout his rule, while successive U.S. administrations tried unsuccessfully to resolve a dispute with Iran over its nuclear programme.

The airstrike that killed ​him pulverised his ​central Tehran compound. ⁠His 56-year-old son Mojtaba, who also lost his wife in the airstrike and was himself injured, ​succeeded his father as Supreme Leader.

Pakistan's Prime Minister ​Shehbaz Sharif ⁠said on Saturday that Iran and the United States had agreed on a framework for a peace deal after more than three months ⁠of ​war and are expected to sign ​the initial deal in the next 24 hours.

Reuters