NAJAF, Iraq — Iran’s multi-day state funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered a new phase on Wednesday as his funeral procession crossed into Iraq, drawing massive crowds of mourners to the holy Shia city of Najaf before continuing to Karbala.
Khamenei’s coffin arrived at Najaf International Airport, where it was received by Iraqi political and religious leaders ahead of a series of official ceremonies and public processions. The Iraq leg of the funeral follows four days of commemorations in Tehran and a day of mourning in the Iranian holy city of Qom.
The procession began in Najaf, with mourners accompanying the coffins through the city toward the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Video footage broadcast by Iranian and Iraqi media showed vast crowds filling streets surrounding the shrine, while thousands of mourners walked alongside the funeral convoy carrying Iranian and Iraqi flags and portraits of Khamenei.
The Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, said more than 2.3 million people had taken part in the funeral procession in Najaf, adding that the number continued to rise as pilgrims arrived from across Iraq. Independent estimates were not immediately available, although journalists on the ground described crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands, with attendance expected to reach into the millions as the day progressed.
Reporting from Najaf, Al Jazeera correspondent Jack Hewson said the procession was expected to travel approximately six kilometres through the city, one of Shia Islam’s holiest centres and a destination that regularly hosts some of the world’s largest religious pilgrimages.
He noted that Iraq’s leading Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was not expected to attend because of his age and the extreme summer heat, rather than for political reasons.
Following the ceremonies in Najaf, Khamenei’s coffin is scheduled to be taken to the holy city of Karbala, where another large public procession and mourning ceremony are planned near the shrines of Imam Hussein and Abbas. The Iraq leg of the funeral was organised at the request of Iraqi religious and political figures, underscoring the close religious and historical ties between the two countries.
The funeral has drawn mourners from across Iraq, with many travelling long distances to participate in what organisers describe as a historic event symbolising unity within the Shia world.
Since the funeral began in Tehran on July 3, millions of people have participated in processions across Iran, with ceremonies later moving to Qom before crossing into Iraq. Iranian officials have also reported participation by delegations from around 100 countries, including heads of state, ministers, parliamentary speakers and religious leaders.
After the ceremonies in Karbala conclude, Khamenei’s Coffin is expected to return to Iran later on Wednesday. The final stage of the funeral will take place in the northeastern city of Mashhad, where he is scheduled to be buried on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam revered by Shia Muslims.
Iranian officials have described the week-long commemorations as one of the largest state funerals in modern history, with millions of mourners taking part across Iran and Iraq.
