Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Coffin Is Carried Through Najaf and Karbala Funeral Processions

Funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shifted on Wednesday to neighbouring Iraq, with the coffin carried through the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf before being flown to Karbala for further processions.

The BBC said the procession in Najaf ended at the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and first Shia Imam, and that mourners jostled to touch the coffin before prayers were held.

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In Najaf, Mohammed al-Bayati told AFP news agency, "This is an opportunity not to be missed - to take part in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel."

The BBC reported that Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of Iran’s war with the US and Israel, will be buried on Thursday in Mashhad in north-eastern Iran, after the Karbala procession ended at the shrine of Imam Hussein.

AP said thousands of mourners attended funeral processions on Wednesday in Najaf and Karbala as part of dayslong ceremonies, with Khamenei’s body taken from Najaf to Karbala before it is to be returned to Iran.

As the coffin was transported by lorry towards the shrine of Imam Ali, the BBC reported chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" were heard during the procession.

The BBC also said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian figures flew to Iraq on Tuesday evening to take part in the ceremonies, and that Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi’s government declared Wednesday a public holiday.

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In Najaf, AP quoted Jaafar Jawad saying, "(His body arriving here) is the greatest possible honor, and God willing, we will be loyal and repay a little of his debt in the holy city of Najaf."

AP reported that Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance at the funeral ceremonies, and it said he is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.

The BBC said Mojtaba Khamenei once again did not make an appearance and has not been seen in public since he was reportedly seriously wounded in the same Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February that killed his father, his wife and several other family members.

While the funeral ceremonies continued, the BBC reported that President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believed the three-week-old preliminary agreement between the US and Iran to end the war was "over," and it said Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the US of violating the deal.

The BBC said the memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Pezeshkian called for the reopening of Strait of Hormuz, and gave them two months to reach a final deal covering Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent truce.

AP warned that talks on ending the war between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial, while strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement could completely break down.

AP said the U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran then launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.

The BBC reported that mediator Qatar said Iranian and US negotiators made "positive progress" at indirect talks in Doha following a similar exchange of strikes, and that their next meeting would take place after the conclusion of the ceremonies for Khamenei.