Exclusive: Iraq restricts Khamenei funeral
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq has imposed restrictions on funeral ceremonies for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, limiting locations and excluding senior Iranian military figures over security concerns, Iraqi sources told Shafaq News on Sunday.
The restrictions reportedly bar participation by senior commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani, while confining any ceremonies to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
‘’Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pushed back against holding any ceremonies in Baghdad,’’ the source added, citing security concerns and political sensitivity linked to regional tensions.
Another source also said that Iraqi authorities had notified Tehran that no Iranian military officials would be allowed to attend, in order to avoid potential security complications and political messaging tied to the event.
‘’Iraqi officials view the ceremonies as carrying implications beyond their religious character,’’ he explained, warning they could be interpreted as a display of Iranian influence in Iraq at a time when Baghdad is trying to preserve a careful regional balance.
Meanwhile, the Coordination Framework (CF), Iraq’s main Shiite political alliance, refuted the claims that Qaani had been barred from entering the country or attending the funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Amer al-Fayez, head of the Tasmeem Alliance and a senior figure within the Framework, underlined that Qaani has not engaged in any conduct that would justify restricting his presence in Iraq, dismissing the reports as misleading and aimed at straining ties between Baghdad and Tehran, which "remain grounded in shared interests."
Khamenei was killed on February 28 in a joint US-Israeli strike on his compound in central Tehran, ending a 37-year tenure as supreme leader. Iraq's role in the funeral is confined to the provinces of Najaf and Karbala, two cities central to Shiite religious life, where organizers expect mass participation.
Under the schedule outlined, Khamenei's body will be flown from the Iranian holy city of Qom to Najaf International Airport, then taken to the shrine of Imam Ali for farewell rites. The procession will continue to Karbala —home to the shrine of Imam Hussein bin Ali, another of Shiite Islam's holiest sites— passing along Al-Abbas Street to the area between the two shrines, before the body returns to Najaf airport for transfer to the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Khamenei is to be buried at the shrine of Imam Ali bin Mousa al-Rida (Imam Reza) on July 9.
Official funeral ceremonies began in Tehran on Friday and are scheduled to continue for about a week before burial, according to the committee organizing the ceremonies.
Read more: Third day of Khamenei mourning begins with funeral prayers
