Shafaq News-Baghdad
IranianPresident Masoud Pezeshkian will head the official Iranian delegationaccompanying the body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during funeralceremonies in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, an informed sourcetold Shafaq News on Tuesday.
Khamenei's bodyis scheduled to arrive at Najaf International Airport on Tuesday evening, whereIraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will attend the official reception ceremony. The public and official funeral processions are set to take place on Wednesdaymorning in both cities, according to the source.
Najaf's streetsand roads are already lined with portraits of the late Supreme Leader alongsideIraqi and Iranian flags, with service processions deployed along the route fromthe airport to the Shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, as well as in the city'smain squares and streets, ahead of the body's arrival.
AyatollahKhamenei was killed on February 28 at the age of 86 during joint US-Israeliairstrikes on the first day of the 2026 war. His burial is scheduled for July 9at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace in northeastern Iran.
