Thousands of mourners gathered in Najaf on Wednesday as funeral processions for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei commenced in the holy Iraqi city.
Iraqi authorities declared a public holiday for the occasion, with ceremonies beginning at 6am local time (03:00 GMT) in Najaf.
Iran launched six days of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Saturday, including a day dedicated to neighboring Iraq. The nation hopes the extended ceremonies will project strength and unity amid the US-Israel war on Iran, which began with airstrikes that killed Khamenei and several of his relatives on February 28.
After a massive procession in Iran’s holy city of Qom, Iraqi officials and senior politicians received Khamenei’s remains on Tuesday night at Najaf International Airport in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the late leader’s eldest son, Mostafa Hosseini Khamenei.
Khamenei’s coffin made its way through the streets of Najaf to the shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and the first Shia imam.
Najaf ranks as “the third holiest site in Shia Islam after Mecca and Medina,” according to Al Jazeera’s Jack Hewson, who reported from the city.
“The city regularly hosts large numbers of pilgrims for religious events, and this gathering stands among those of greatest significance,” Hewson noted.
While the exact number of participants remains uncertain, Hewson confirmed that hundreds of thousands are believed to be present.
Khamenei will be buried on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since assuming leadership following his father’s assassination, was notably absent from the processions. Officials stated he sustained injuries in the airstrikes that killed his father, though the extent of his wounds remains unclear.
Following Najaf, Khamenei’s body will be transported to Karbala, approximately 60km north, for additional processions concluding at the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
Esmail Qaani, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, highlighted the “spiritual bond” between Shia-majority Iraq and Iran.
“The extensive planning for this historical event by the Iraqi government and people demonstrates the depth of the spiritual bond between our two great nations and the broader international community,” Qaani remarked.
Iraqi citizen Mohammed al-Bayati, who traveled for hours to attend, described the event as “an opportunity not to be missed to participate in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel.”
