Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei's body arrives in Iraq for funeral processions
via Punch Nigeria2 min read
The body of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei arrived at Najaf International Airport in Iraq on Tuesday night, as reported by Iraqi state media. This precedes funeral processions in Iraq's holy cities, which are significant to Shia Muslims. Iran began six days of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Saturday, with a dedicated day for neighboring Iraq. Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the Middle East war in US-Israeli strikes, is scheduled to be buried on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran. Iraqi state TV broadcast the arrival of the Mahan Air flight carrying Khamenei's coffin, where Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had arrived earlier for the official Iraqi ceremony. Iraqi officials and senior politicians, including Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, were present to receive the remains. Iranian commander Esmail Qaani, who heads the Quds Force, was also in attendance. The Iraqi government declared Wednesday a public holiday, with processions set to begin at 06:00 am in Najaf. Mourners had started arriving in Najaf a day in advance for a six-kilometer procession culminating at the shrine of Imam Ali. After Najaf, Khamenei's body will be flown to Karbala for another procession ending at the shrines of Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
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