Iranian President to lead Khamenei funeral delegation in Iraq

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will head the official Iranian delegation accompanying the body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during funeral ceremonies in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, an informed source told Shafaq News on Tuesday.

Khamenei's body is scheduled to arrive at Najaf International Airport on Tuesday evening, where Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will attend the official reception ceremony. The public and official funeral processions are set to take place on Wednesday morning in both cities, according to the source.

Najaf's streets and roads are already lined with portraits of the late Supreme Leader alongside Iraqi and Iranian flags, with service processions deployed along the route from the airport to the Shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, as well as in the city's main squares and streets, ahead of the body's arrival.

Ayatollah Khamenei was killed on February 28 at the age of 86 during joint US-Israeli airstrikes on the first day of the 2026 war. His burial is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace in northeastern Iran.