PM Al-Zaidi to receive Khamenei's body at Najaf Airport

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will receive the body of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Najaf International Airport on Tuesday evening, an informed source told Shafaq News, with official reception ceremonies to be held at the airport.

Najaf deploys more than 25,000 security personnel, 100 ambulances, and a thousand medical staff ahead of Wednesday's public procession, which is scheduled to set out at 6:00 a.m. from al-Sadr Teaching Hospital overpass toward the Shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb. At least seven provinces declared Wednesday an official holiday to allow participation in the ceremonies.

Funeral processions for Khamenei got underway in Tehran on Monday morning, drawing millions of participants under unprecedented security arrangements. Following the Najaf reception, the procession will continue to Karbala before the body returns to Iran for burial at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad on July 9.

Khamenei was killed on February 28 at the age of 86 during joint US-Israeli airstrikes on the first day of the 2026 war.