Funerals for Iran’s supreme leader begin in Iraq after body arrives in holy city
Funeral processions for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners in attendance.
Khamenei’s multi-day funeral in the Islamic Republic began on Saturday. Authorities have closed streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners honor the man who ruled Iran with an iron fist against the West for decades. His body would later be transported from Najaf to the city of Karbala and then returned to Iran.
Khamenei’s body arrived in the Iraqi city, considered one of the holiest by millions of Shiite Muslims around the world, on Tuesday along with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials. They were greeted by mourners and supporters holding portraits of the late supreme leader, as well as others engaged in self-flagellation in the streets.
Khamenei’s body was in a coffin draped with the flag of the Islamic Republic and encased in glass. Mourners waved Iranian flags and red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge.
– AP