Funeral prayers for Khamenei begin in Iraq‍‍`s Najaf

Funeral prayers for Iran‍‍`s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on Wednesday in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, where thousands of mourners gathered to pay their final respects.

Khamenei‍‍`s body arrived in Najaf on Tuesday, accompanied by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials.

Large crowds welcomed the coffin, which was covered with glass and draped in the Iranian national flag. Mourners carried portraits of the late leader and waved Iranian flags alongside black and red mourning banners.

The prayers are being held at the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, and are being led by senior Najaf seminary scholar Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim.

After the ceremony in Najaf, Khamenei‍‍`s body will be taken to Karbala, where another funeral prayer is scheduled at the Imam Hussein Shrine.

Iran began several days of funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Saturday, shutting down major roads, restricting airspace and suspending much of daily life in Tehran as mourners honoured the leader who ruled the Islamic Republic for decades.

The funeral comes at a tense moment for the region. Talks between the United States and Iran remain paused until after Khamenei‍‍`s burial, while renewed military exchanges in the Persian Gulf have raised fears that an interim deal aimed at ending the conflict could collapse.

The United States launched strikes on Iran early Wednesday after accusing Tehran of attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran later retaliated with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.

Khamenei, 86, was killed in late February during large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran, along with several other senior Iranian officials.

His son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not yet appeared publicly during the funeral ceremonies. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the strike that killed his father.