Iran’s slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family were brought to the holy Iraqi city of Najaf on Tuesday as part of a multi-day funeral procession spanning Iran and Iraq. The coffin was officially received at Najaf International Airport by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, senior Iraqi officials, and prominent Shia religious figures. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also arrived in Najaf to participate in the funeral ceremonies.
Following the official reception, the coffins are being taken to the revered Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf for prayers and tributes. The funeral procession will then continue to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where mourners will pay their respects at the Shrine of Imam Hussain before the remains are returned to Iran.
Earlier on Tuesday, funeral prayers for Ayatollah Khamenei and his family were held at Jamkaran Mosque in the Iranian city of Qom, drawing enormous crowds. Millions of mourners reportedly participated in the procession, which stretched for several kilometers, with people of all ages, from infants carried by their parents to elderly citizens, joining the solemn event. Emotional scenes of grief and mourning were witnessed throughout the ceremony.
The funeral follows several days of large-scale public mourning across Iran. Tehran also witnessed massive funeral gatherings over the weekend, where vast crowds attended prayers and processions in one of the country’s largest state-organized public events in recent history. While official estimates put attendance in the millions, independent assessments of the exact crowd size vary.
According to Iranian authorities, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be laid to rest on July 9 at the Shrine of Imam Reza in his hometown of Mashhad, bringing to a close a week-long funeral procession that has passed through Tehran, Qom, Najaf, and Karbala before the final burial.