Funeral events for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Khamenei under way in Iraq

Thousands of mourners gathered in Iraq's Najaf on Wednesday for funeral processions for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iraqi authorities declared the day a public holiday, with ceremonies beginning at 6 a.m. local time.

Khamenei's coffin traveled through Najaf streets to the shrine of Imam Ali, a significant site in Shia Islam. Al Jazeera's Jack Hewson reported from Najaf, noting the city's familiarity with large religious gatherings and the event's high significance. "No one knows the exact number of mourners here in Najaf, but it’s pretty clear that we’re looking at hundreds of thousands," Hewson said.

The funeral ceremonies, which began in Iran on Saturday and include a day dedicated to Iraq, aim to project strength and unity amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Khamenei and several relatives were killed in strikes on Tehran on February 28.

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No one knows the exact number of mourners here in Najaf, but it’s pretty clear that we’re looking at hundreds of thousands.

After a procession in Iran's Qom, Khamenei's remains were received in Najaf by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the late leader's eldest son, Mostafa Hosseini Khamenei. Esmail Qaani, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, highlighted the "spiritual bond" between Iran and Iraq, stating that the Iraqi government and people's extensive planning for the event demonstrates this connection.

Khamenei's burial is scheduled for Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad. Notably absent from the processions has been Mojtaba Khamenei, who took over as supreme leader shortly after his father's assassination. Officials stated he was wounded in the air strikes that killed his father, but the severity of his injuries remains unclear.

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The extensive planning for this historical event by the Iraqi government and people shows the depth of the spiritual bond between the two great nations of Iraq and Iran to the whole world.