Funeral events for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Khamenei under way in Iraq

Khamenei’s coffin made its way through the streets of Najaf to the shrine of Imam Ali, Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law.Thousands of mourners have gathered in Iraq’s Najaf as funeral processions for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began in the holy city.Iraqi authorities declared Wednesday a public holiday, with procession ceremonies starting at 6am local time (03:00 GMT) in Najaf.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Photos: Khamenei funeral procession under way in Tehranlist 2 of 4Huge crowd joins funeral procession for Iran’s Supreme Leader Khameneilist 3 of 4What is the religious and political messaging behind Khamenei’s funeral?list 4 of 4Sons of Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei attend funeral, but Mojtaba is absentend of listIran began six days of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Saturday, including a day dedicated to neighbouring Iraq.It hopes the marathon ceremonies will project strength and unity amid the US-Israel war on Iran, which began with strikes by the two countries on Tehran that killed Khamenei and several of his relatives on February 28.After a massive procession in Iran’s holy city of Qom, Iraqi officials and senior politicians received Khamenei’s remains on Tuesday night at Najaf international airport in the presence of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the late leader’s eldest son, Mostafa Hosseini Khamenei.Khamenei’s coffin made its way through the streets of Najaf to the shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and the first Shia imam.Najaf is “the third holiest site in Shia Islam after Mecca and Medina”, said Al Jazeera’s Jack Hewson, reporting from Najaf.“The city is used to seeing huge numbers of pilgrims for religious events, and this seems to be ranking among those in its significance.”“No one knows the exact number of mourners here in Najaf, but it’s pretty clear that we’re looking at hundreds of thousands,” Hewson added.Khamenei’s burial will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad, in northeast Iran.