Khamenei's body to Najaf and Karbala on July 8
Shafaq News- Baghdad
The body of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is scheduled to arrive at Najaf International Airport on July 8 for funeral processions in the Iraqi holy city, according to a source close to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad
The body will be transferred from the Iranian city of Qom, and senior officials and religious figures will receive it at Najaf airport in a formal ceremony before it is moved to the shrine of Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb, one of Shia Islam's most sacred sites, where mourning and farewell rites will be held.
The procession will then travel to the neighboring province of Karbala, home to the shrines of Imam Hussein ibn Ali and Abbas ibn Ali, two other central figures in Shia religious history. The cortege will pass through Abbas Street and reach the area between the two shrines, known as Bayn al-Haramayn, where a mass public funeral is expected to draw broad popular participation.
Following the Karbala ceremonies, the body will be returned to Najaf airport and flown to the Iranian city of Mashhad.
The source did not specify where Khamenei will be buried.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said earlier that the authorities are preparing for the funeral procession in the capital.
Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, ending more than three decades as Iran's supreme leader. He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the same attacks and has not made any public appearances since assuming the position.
