The remains of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were carried through two of the world’s most important Shia shrines in Iraq as funeral ceremonies enter the fifth day.
The procession through Najaf's imam‑Ali shrine drew tens of thousands of mourners who pushed and shoved to reach the coffin. Some shouted anti‑American chants as the casket was carried across the shrine’s marble halls, after which a senior cleric led prayers inside the mausoleum.
The coffin was later flown to Karbala, about 60 kilometres north of Najaf, where another mass procession ended at the shrine of Imam Hussein. The burial is scheduled for the following Thursday in Mashhad, in north‑east Iran, where Khamenei will be interred.
An Iranian delegation headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Iraq to attend the ceremonies; the Iraqi Prime Minister welcomed them and declared the day a public holiday. The presence of international delegations reflects the intense regional significance of the funeral amid recent tensions between Iran and the United States over naval strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
