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Funeral processions carrying the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei will pass on Wednesday through Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, home to Shia Islam’s most sacred shrines.
Iran began six days of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Saturday, including a dedicated day to neighbouring Iraq, a Shia powerhouse with close ties to Tehran.
The Islamic republic hopes the marathon ceremonies will project strength and unity after the Middle East war, which started with US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and several relatives on February 28.
After a massive procession in Iran’s holy city of Qom, Iraqi officials and senior politicians received the remains of Khamenei on Tuesday night at Najaf international airport in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iraqi authorities declared Wednesday a public holiday, with ceremonies set to begin at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in Najaf.
Huge crowds were expected in Najaf and Karbala, where banners welcoming Khamenei adorned the streets. Large portraits of the late leader hung beside Iranian flags and photos of other slain commanders from Iran’s “axis of resistance”.
In Karbala, one banner read “we bid you farewell” and another displayed Khamenei’s photo with the caption, “the one who humiliated America”.
Khamenei’s final burial will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran.
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Iraqi Mohammed al-Bayati, 30, who travelled for hours to Najaf, said it was “an opportunity not to be missed to participate in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel”.
In Najaf, mourners will join a six-kilometre (four-mile) procession ending at the majestic shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law and the first Shia Imam.
Najaf is the main centre of Shia religious seminaries, and is also home to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq’s top Shia religious authority.
Many senior Shia clerics have studied, taught or lived there, including Khamenei’s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Many Shia Muslims around the world also seek to be buried there.
After Najaf, Khamenei’s body will be flown to Karbala, about 60 kilometres north, for another procession that will culminate at the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
The death of Hussein, the third Shia Imam, in the seventh century remains central to Shia history and draws millions of people from around the world to Karbala and Najaf every year.
