Ali Khamenei’s Body Arrives in Najaf as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi Receives It

The body of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei arrived in Najaf on Tuesday night, received by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and other political elites at Najaf International Airport ahead of funeral processions in Iraq.

“In Pictures The funeral procession for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has begun in Tehran as authorities prepare for crowds that could rival those that turned out for his predecessor nearly four decades ago”

Al Jazeera

The New Region said a high-level Iranian delegation headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian was accompanying the body, and it placed Khamenei’s death on February 28 in a US-Israeli strike on his compound in Tehran.

Al Jazeera

Rudaw reported that Zaidi directed government institutions to suspend working hours during Khamenei’s funeral procession on Wednesday, and it said Khamenei’s body would be taken to the shrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib in Najaf before transfer onward.

The Straits Times reported that the Iraqi government declared July 8 a public holiday for the mourning events, with processions set to begin at 6am in Najaf.

Anadolu Ajansı said the journey would conclude at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown, where he is due to be laid to rest on July 9.

At Najaf International Airport, The New Region listed Iraqi figures receiving the coffin, including former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sunni strongman former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali, and National Wisdom Movement chief Ammar al-Hakim.

Kurdistan24 said Iraqi authorities completed logistical and technical preparations for official and public funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala, citing the Higher Committee overseeing the funeral arrangements.

Anadolu Ajansı

The Straits Times reported that Iranian commander Esmail Qaani, who heads the foreign operations branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force, was also present at the airport.

In Najaf, mourners began arriving at least a day in advance for a 6km procession that should culminate at the shrine of Imam Ali, and The Straits Times quoted Mohammed al-Bayati, 30, saying, “this is an opportunity that cannot be missed”.

The Straits Times also said Khamenei’s body will be flown to Karbala after Najaf, for another procession ending at the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.

The funeral schedule described by CNN Arabic placed the Najaf leg on July 8, with an official reception held in the presence of the Iraqi prime minister and senior government officials and religious leaders before the funeral procession proceeds to the Shrine of Imam Ali.

“Iran: End of funeral rites for Khamenei’s father in Tehran”

BBC

CNN Arabic said the body would then be transported by helicopter to the Shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala about 80 kilometers away before returning to Iran.

The Straits Times said Khamenei will be buried on July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad in north-east Iran, and it described processions drawing large crowds to shrines of key Shia figures.

Rudaw said Najaf is the first stop for Khamenei’s body before it is transferred to the neighboring province of Karbala, and from there to its final resting place in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that the coffin arrival in Najaf forms part of a procession carrying Khamenei’s body through Shia holy sites in Iran and Iraq before his final burial.