The funeral ceremonies began Tuesday night with an official reception for the body of the martyred Leader at Najaf International Airport, where senior officials from Iran and Iraq paid tribute before the public farewell.
On Wednesday morning, funeral prayers were offered over the bodies of the martyred Leader and martyred members of his family at the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS).
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The funeral ceremony today is attended by the heads of Iraq's executive, legislative, and judicial branches, prominent political figures, members of the Coordination Framework, lawmakers, and other state officials.
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Najaf Governor Yousef Makki Kanawi said the holy city has completed all security, logistical, and service arrangements for the historic occasion, describing the province as fully prepared to host the funeral ceremonies. He noted that a joint delegation from the Office of the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Joint Operations Command, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and the Iranian ambassador had reviewed all organizational details in advance.
The atmosphere across Najaf has been transformed as the city receives mourners arriving to bid farewell to the martyred Leader. Since late Monday night, large crowds have been gathering while Iraqi volunteer service camps, known as ‘Mawkibs’, have been established throughout the city and along the roads leading to Najaf.
The service camps have been decorated with portraits of the martyred Leader alongside Iraqi Resistance martyrs, while volunteers continue preparing food, water, medical assistance, and other facilities for the hundreds of thousands of mourners participating in the ceremonies.
From Najaf to nearby Kufa, volunteers have been working around the clock to erect new service stations, complete decorations, and organize assistance for pilgrims and mourners, turning the holy city into a scene of solidarity between the Iraqi and Iranian peoples.
Many Iraqi citizens described hosting the funeral ceremonies as a great honor for all Shiites, saying Iraq's farewell to the martyred Leader reflects the profound religious and historical bonds linking the two neighboring nations.
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The public funeral procession has gotten underway in Najaf before continuing to the holy city of Karbala, where another major funeral ceremony will be held as part of the farewell honoring the martyred Leader.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government has deployed hundreds of buses to transport mourners to the funeral ceremonies, facilitating the movement of participants from different provinces to Najaf and Karbala.
Special Operations units of the Popular Mobilization Units have also been deployed to Najaf to safeguard the ceremonies. The PMU has mobilized tens of thousands of its personnel to maintain security and public order during the massive funeral processions in the two holy cities.
The funeral in Iraq follows the unprecedented farewell ceremonies in Iran’s Tehran and Qom, where millions of Iranians paid their final respects to the martyred Leader. After the ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala, the body of Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei will return to Iran for the final funeral procession and burial at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad.
Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred in a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran on February 28, 2026, at the outset of a 40-day war of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
His assassination triggered widespread condemnation and mourning across Iran and the Axis of Resistance, with participants in the funeral ceremonies carrying red flags as a declaration that the demand for justice and retribution for the martyred Leader remains alive.
