Iraq readies Khamenei funeral with Arbaeen-style plans
Shafaq News- Karbala/ Najaf
Authorities in Iraq's holy cities of Karbala and Najaf confirmed on Monday their readiness to host funeral ceremonies for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on July 8, after Baghdad approved Tehran's request to include Iraq in the official funeral itinerary.
Mohammed Al-Masoudi, a member of Karbala's Provincial Council and head of its Tribal Affairs and Religious Occasions Committee, told Shafaq News that Iraqi and Iranian officials discussed the details of the funeral during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday, explaining that Karbala's program would take the form of a public farewell, with security and logistical measures modeled on those used during the city's largest annual religious pilgrimages, including Arbaeen, which draws millions of Shia Muslim pilgrims each year, while being adapted to the nature of the event.
Visitors from across Iraq are expected to arrive one or two days in advance, alongside Husseini processions, volunteer religious groups that organize and provide services during Shia religious occasions, taking part in the reception.
Read more: Discover Iraq: Najaf, a city of dust and divinity
The proposed route would begin in Baghdad before continuing to Karbala, home to the shrines of Imam Hussein bin Ali and his brother al-Abbas, two of the most revered figures in Shia Islam, and then to Najaf, where the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb shrine is located. Khamenei's body would later be transferred to Iran for burial at the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
In Najaf, local government spokesperson Ahmed Al-Fatlawi told Shafaq News that the official program would start at Najaf International Airport before proceeding to the Imam Ali shrine, with security, municipal, and other government agencies overseeing the event and receiving official delegations and mourners.
Iranian delegations have arrived in Najaf to coordinate the final logistical preparations with Iraqi authorities.
Khamenei, who led Iran from 1989 until his death, was killed on February 28 during the opening day of US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
Read more: Discover Iraq: Karbala, where memory breathes and future beckons
