Mass Funeral Processions for Martyr Ayatollah Khamenei held in Najaf

The body of the martyred Leader arrived at Najaf International Airport late Tuesday night, accompanied by a delegation of Iranian officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi welcomed the Iranian delegation at Najaf Airport, where a high-level official ceremony was held. The delegation also visited the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia Imam, and met with the trusteeship of the holy site.

Earlier, groups of Iraqi people held mourning rites at Imam Ali shrine hours before the official commencement of the funeral. Crowds of Iraqi mourners converged on Najaf to attend the procession scheduled to begin Wednesday morning.

Following the ceremony in Najaf, the body of the martyred Leader will be transferred to the holy shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala for a separate ceremony. Upon the conclusion of the official visit to Iraq, the late Leader will be returned to the holy city of Mashhad for a final farewell and burial at the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS).

Earlier on Tuesday, the holy city of Qom hosted the martyred Leader and millions of mourners. The funeral ceremony in Qom began early Tuesday, with senior jurist Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli offering the funeral prayer over the coffins of the Leader and his family members, who were martyred in a U.S.-Israeli attack on February 28.

The week-long mourning period for the martyred Leader commenced in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Saturday, July 4. Millions of Iranian mourners, alongside devotees from other countries, participated in ceremonies held at the Grand Mosalla of Imam Khomeini (RA) in downtown Tehran. The Tehran ceremony concluded with a large funeral procession through the city streets on Monday.