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ReutersThe remains of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been carried through two of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines in neighbouring Iraq, as funeral ceremonies continue for a fifth day.
Huge crowds filled the city of Najaf for a procession that ended at the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law and first Shia Imam. Inside, mourners jostled to touch the coffin before prayers were held.
It was later flown to the city of Karbala and taken through more crowds to the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, the prophet’s grandson.
Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of Iran’s war with the US and Israel, will be buried on Thursday in Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran.
Among the tens of thousands of mourners who gathered in Najaf on Wednesday morning was Mohammed al-Bayati, 30, who told AFP news agency: “This is an opportunity not to be missed – to take part in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel.”
Chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were also heard as Khamenei’s coffin was transported by a lorry towards the shrine of Imam Ali.
Video footage showed mourners pushing and shoving each other to get close to the casket as it was carried by hand through the mausoleum’s halls. A senior cleric from Najaf’s Shia seminaries then led the funeral prayers.
Later on Wednesday, Khamenei’s coffin arrived in Karbala, about 60km (37 miles) north of Najaf, for another funeral procession that ended at the shrine of Imam Hussein. His death in battle there in the 7th Century cemented the schism between Shia and Sunnis.
ReutersOn Tuesday evening, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian figures flew to Iraq to take part in the ceremonies for Khamenei.
The Iranian delegation was welcomed on arrival by Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi, whose government declared Wednesday a public holiday.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, once again did not make an appearance. He has not been seen in public since he was reportedly seriously wounded in the same Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February that killed his father, his wife and several other family members.
Pezeshkian reportedly flew home to Tehran early on Wednesday, after the US and Iran exchanged strikes following attacks on several tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US blamed the attacks on Iran and said its forces in the region carried out strikes on dozens of Iranian military targets in retaliation. Iran said it responded by attacking US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believed the three-week-old preliminary agreement between the US and Iran to end the war was “over”.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the US of violating the deal and warned that Iranians “don’t fold”.
The memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Pezeshkian called for the reopening of Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf waterway through which 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass, and gave them two months to reach a final deal that covers Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent truce.
Last week, mediator Qatar said Iranian and US negotiators made “positive progress” at indirect talks in Doha following a similar exchange of strikes, and that their next meeting would take place after the conclusion of the ceremonies for Khamenei.
Ali KhameneiIranIran-US relationsIraqMiddle East
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