Funeral prayers for Iranian supreme leader commence in Iraq
Funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, began on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf, with thousands of mourners in attendance.
The Islamic Republic's days-long funeral for Khamenei began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, closing airspace and disrupting daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorated the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron grip while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before being returned to Iran.
Talks between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. However, strikes by both sides in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and into Wednesday have heightened concerns that the interim agreement to end the months-long war that engulfed the Middle East could collapse. The US military launched strikes on Iran early on Wednesday after accusing Tehran of attacking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to retaliate with strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.
Khamenei's body arrived in the Iraqi city, regarded as one of the holiest sites for millions of Shia Muslims worldwide, on Tuesday, accompanied by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials. They were received by mourners carrying portraits of the late supreme leader, while others performed acts of self-flagellation in the streets.
Khamenei's body lay in a glass-encased coffin draped in the flag of the Islamic Republic. Mourners waved Iranian flags alongside red and black flags symbolising mourning and revenge.
"We, the people of Iraq, will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies," said Jaafar Jawad, who attended the funeral. "His arrival among us is the greatest possible honour, and, God willing, we will remain loyal and repay, even in a small way, our debt to him in the holy city of Najaf."
Funeral prayers in Najaf will be held at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, and will be led by Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary.
In Karbala, another holy city for Shia Muslims where Imam Hussein, the Prophet's grandson, was killed in AD 680, prayers at the Imam Hussein Shrine will be led by Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq's highest Shia religious authority.
Khamenei was killed in late February in large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran. He was among several senior Iranian leaders killed during the conflict. He was 86.
Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to appear at any of the funeral ceremonies, which are taking place over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the air strike that killed his father.