Khamenei’s Coffin Carried Through Iraq’s Holiest Shia Shrines as Funeral Ceremonies Continue

The remains of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were carried through two of Shia Islam's holiest shrines in Iraq on Wednesday as thousands of mourners gathered to pay their final respects during the fifth day of funeral ceremonies.

Large crowds lined the streets of Najaf, where a funeral procession concluded at the revered Imam Ali Shrine, the burial place of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and the first Imam in Shia Islam.

Inside the shrine, mourners pressed forward to touch Khamenei's coffin before funeral prayers were conducted by a senior cleric from Najaf's Shia seminaries.

The coffin was later flown to the holy city of Karbala, where another large procession accompanied it to the Imam Hussein Shrine, dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, whose death in the seventh century remains central to Shia Islamic history.

Khamenei, who was killed on the opening day of Iran's recent conflict with the United States and Israel, is scheduled to be buried on Thursday in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.

Among the mourners in Najaf was Mohammed al-Bayati, who described the funeral as a historic occasion.

"This is an opportunity not to be missed to take part in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel," he was quoted as saying.

Crowds chanted anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans as the coffin was transported through the streets on a truck before being carried by hand inside the Imam Ali shrine.

Video footage from the ceremony showed mourners pushing forward in an effort to touch the casket as it passed through the shrine's halls.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian travelled to Iraq on Tuesday evening alongside senior Iranian officials to participate in the funeral ceremonies.

They were received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Zaidi, whose government declared Wednesday a public holiday to mark the occasion.

However, Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, did not appear publicly during the ceremonies.

He has remained out of public view since reports that he sustained serious injuries during the Israeli airstrike in Tehran on February 28, which killed his father, his mother and several other family members.

The funeral ceremonies unfolded against the backdrop of renewed military exchanges between Iran and the United States.

President Pezeshkian reportedly returned to Tehran early on Wednesday after both countries exchanged strikes following attacks on several oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington blamed Iran for the attacks on the vessels and said it responded by striking multiple Iranian military targets across the region.

Iran, in turn, said it launched retaliatory attacks against US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.

US President Donald Trump later declared that the preliminary agreement reached between Washington and Tehran three weeks earlier to end hostilities was effectively "over."

Meanwhile, Iran's Parliamentary Speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the United States of violating the understanding and insisted that Iran would not yield under pressure.

The preliminary agreement had provided for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global oil and gas shipments pass, while giving both sides two months to negotiate a broader settlement covering Iran's nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent ceasefire.

Despite the latest tensions, mediator Qatar had said last week that indirect talks between Iranian and US negotiators in Doha had made positive progress, with another round of negotiations expected after the conclusion of Khamenei's funeral ceremonies.