NAJAF, Iraq — Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were held Wednesday in the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala with masses of mourners present.

The days-long funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace, and daily life in the Islamic Republic’s capital, Tehran, as mourners commemorated the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.

Khamenei was killed in late February in widescale US and Israeli strikes on Iran. He was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war. He was 86.

His body arrived Tuesday in Najaf, considered one of the holiest of cities for millions of Shiite Muslims worldwide. Many senior Shia clerics have studied, taught, or lived there, including Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Mourners holding portraits of the late supreme leader welcomed the body and senior officials escorting it, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The body was placed in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag and encased in glass.

Some supporters performed self-flagellation on the streets, while others waved Iranian as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and a desire for revenge.

Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary, led the funeral prayers at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law.

As the coffin was carried into the shrine, large crowds of mourners pushed and shoved their way to get close to it. Some threw themselves onto the casket, as Hakim struggled to control the crowd, urging the pallbearers to carry it closer to the ground for fear it might fall.

“We, the people of Iraq, will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies,” said Jaafar Jawad, a funeral attendee. The arrival of Khamenei’s body “is the greatest possible honor, and God willing, we will........

© The Times of Israel