The price of graves in the religious city of Mashhad in the northeast has surged to billions of rials, forcing families to bury their dead in nearby villages, according to a report published by the reformist daily Shargh on Sunday.
In Mashhad, the report said, grave prices have reached record levels. Plots in municipal cemeteries range from sixty million rials (about $55) in public sections to more than 18 billion rials (around $16,700) for private family plots.
Mashhad is home to the burial site of the eighth Shia Imam.
In cemeteries near or inside the shrine itself, graves cost between 1 billion and 14 billion rials (roughly $925 to $12,950) depending on the location.
Iran's state-run Supreme Labor Council has set the base salary at roughly 104.4 million rials. At current market rates at about 1,080,000 rials per dollar, that monthly wage is worth about $95–$110 depending on benefits, compared with about $238–$300 in 2016.
The exorbitant prices have driven many urban families to seek cheaper grave options in rural areas, the report said.
“City people have filled our village cemetery,” said Fatemeh, a resident of a village near Mashhad. “They bury their dead here because it’s free, but now we no longer have space for our own.”
Residents in neighboring villages also said outsiders bring bodies at night to avoid restrictions, prompting local officials to consider fencing off village cemeteries.
Families interviewed by Shargh described how the rising costs have turned burials into a display of social status. One woman said her family spent nearly 20 billion rials (about $18,500) to honor her grandmother’s wish to be buried near the shrine.
“We had to sell everything to fulfill her will,” she said.
Another mourner said she faced criticism for burying her father outside the shrine: “It’s become a matter of prestige – people boast about where their dead are buried.”
National trend: the business of death
Across Iran, burial prices have become a nationwide controversy. In Tehran’s main cemetery, some family plots sell for several billion rials, while officials insist prices follow city council regulations. Reports have also surfaced of an underground grave mafia profiting from limited space in older cemeteries in Shiraz and Isfahan.
Tehran’s city council recently confirmed that a three-tier grave costs about 330 million rials (around $305), with the first burial officially free and the next two layers reserved for relatives. The policy, however, has fueled confusion and criticism online.
The municipalities in cooperation with the ministry of health drafted new regulations last June to improve standards in cemeteries. However, there are still no laws defining or limiting grave prices.
“There is no law regarding the price of graves, and the only limits are those approved by the city council,” Marzieh Mohebbi, a legal expert, told Shargh.
Under Iranian law, she added, pre-purchasing a grave is considered the sale of a right of use – “something similar to a permanent lease” – and cannot be transferred to another person.
