A new resolution by the Tehran City Council shows that the cost of cemetery services in the capital—from transporting and washing the deceased to shrouding, burial, and funeral ceremonies—has increased by an average of 40% to 50%, making the final farewell significantly more expensive for bereaved families.
The state-run Didban Iran news website reported on May 31, in an article titled “Million-Rial Farewell to the Dead; Even the Dead Are Not Safe from Inflation and Rising Prices,” on the details of the Tehran City Council’s new resolution regarding cemetery service fees for 2026.
Didban Iran wrote that the price increases cover a wide range of services, including transportation of the deceased, morgue storage, washing of the deceased, shrouding, burial, gravestone installation, and funeral ceremonies.
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Under the resolution, the cost of transporting a deceased person within Tehran and up to a 10-kilometer radius has increased from 6.5 million rials in 2025 to 9.75 million rials in 2026, representing a 50% increase.
The cost of transporting the deceased to the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Center, as well as private ambulance services, has also risen significantly.
These fee increases are being implemented at a time when citizens have been facing numerous economic hardships in recent months, including high inflation, economic stagnation, widespread layoffs, and the consequences of internet shutdowns.
Sharp Rise in Burial Costs
According to Didban Iran, the cost of several public cemetery services has increased, and items related to washing and shrouding, morgue storage, preparation of the deceased for transport, burial services, and gravestone installation have become more expensive compared to last year.
The price hikes are not limited to burial services. Fees for holding funeral ceremonies—including the rental of chairs, tables, canopies, audio equipment, and ceremony management—have also increased, with some services experiencing price rises of up to 50%.
According to Didban Iran, rates for grave allocations have also increased. The cost of usufruct rights—the right to use certain graves in various sections of Behesht Zahra cemetery and the new cemeteries of Tehran—has risen significantly compared to last year. However, the City Council has provided certain facilities and discounts for specific groups and vulnerable populations.
The resolution also states that if energy prices increase, cemetery service fees will be reviewed and raised accordingly.
Earlier, in May 2025, Mehdi Pirhadi, a member of the Tehran City Council, warned that burial capacity at Behesht Zahra cemetery would soon be exhausted and that if the issue was not resolved, the deceased would “certainly remain above ground.”
Didban Iran wrote that the explanatory report accompanying the Tehran City Council resolution cited the growing gap between the actual cost of providing services and the amounts collected from citizens as one of the main reasons for the sharp fee increases. The municipality itself proposed the price hikes despite its slogan of running the city at low cost.
The new Tehran City Council resolution means that many families, while already facing mounting economic pressure and declining living standards, will now have to pay higher costs for the burial and funeral ceremonies of their loved ones.
