Funeral prayers in Iraq for Iranian supreme leader commence after body arrives in holy city

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Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Sons of late Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei among mourners at his funeral 00:43 00:00 01:14 01:14 More Videos 00:43 Sons of late Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei among mourners at his funeral 00:57 Dayslong funeral for late Supreme Leader Khamenei begins in Iran 01:07 Coffin of late Supreme Leader Khamenei paraded through Tehran 00:55 Mourners at Khamenei funeral procession in Tehran vow 'revenge' 00:32 Truck carrying Khamenei's casket surrounded by crowd of mourners in Qom 01:05 Iran mourners honor late supreme leader in seminary city of Qom 00:55 AP Top Stories July 6 00:52 AP Top Stories July 3 Close 1 of 6 | An official funeral ceremony was held Tuesday night for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Najaf International airport in Iraq. 2 of 6 | Mourners wave Shiite religious flags and a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) 3 of 6 | Portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are distributed outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) 4 of 6 | Mourners sit outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) 5 of 6 | An Iraqi Shiite soldier chants on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) 6 of 6 | Shiite mourners chant slogans as the perform ritual self-flagellation with chains outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Updated 8:13 AM MESZ, July 8, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Najaf, Iraq (AP) — Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners present. The Islamic Republic’s dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before returned to Iran. Talks between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement to end the monthslong war that engulfed the Mideast could break down. The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, before Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain. The body of Khamenei arrived in the Iraqi city considered among the holiest for millions of Shiite Muslims around the world on Tuesday, alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and other senior officials. They were welcomed by mourners and supporters holding portraits of the late supreme leader, and others performing self-flagellation on the streets. Oil prices jump more than 3% after US strikes on Iran, while shares in Asia are mixed 2 MIN READ Tehran targets Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes and limits Iran’s oil sales over ship attacks 5 MIN READ 94 Danish PM says her country is ‘ready to defend’ Greenland as Trump joins NATO leaders in Turkey 5 MIN READ 20 Khamenei’s body was in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag, encased in glass. Mourners waved flags of Iran as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge. “We the people of Iraq will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies,” said Jaafar Jawad, who is participating in the funeral. “His arrival to us is the greatest possible honor, and God willing we will be loyal, and repay a little of his due in the holy city of Najaf.” The funeral prayers in Najaf will take place at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and will be led by Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary. In Karbala, also a holy city for Shiite Muslims where the Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet, was killed in 680 AD, Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority will lead the prayers at the Imam Hussein Shrine. Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. He was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war. He was 86. Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.