Ayatollah Al-Sistani misses Khamenei funeral over health concerns

Shafaq News- Najaf

Health concerns will prevent Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, from leading funeral prayers for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to a message from Mohammed Reza al-Sistani, the cleric’s son.

Iran’s semi-official Fars News reported that al-Sistani sent a letter to the office of the Supreme Leader, explaining his father’s absence from the funeral.

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 planned schedule, Khamenei’s body will be flown from the Iranian holy city of Qom to Najaf International Airport before being taken to the Imam Ali Shrine for farewell rites. The procession will continue to Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites, passing along Al-Abbas Street to the area between the two shrines. From there, the body will return to Najaf International Airport for transfer to the Iranian city of Mashhad, where Khamenei is to be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine on July 9.

Read more: 4th day funeral procession for Khamenei in Tehran