Iran begins public mourning for Ayatollah killed in February

Khamenei’s body will then travel to Najaf in Iraq on Wednesday. Following a procession at the shrine of Imam Ali, Shia Islam’s first imam, ceremonies will continue in Karbala before the body returns to Iran.

Iranian officials say the Iraq events follow requests from Iraqi groups, with some analysts seeing them as representative of Khamenei’s influence across the Shia Muslim world and Iran’s religious and political ties across the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Baghdad to coordinate the arrangements, saying the funeral had a “symbolic importance”.

On Thursday, Khamenei will be buried in the city of his birth, Mashhad, at the Imam Reza Shrine, the mausoleum of Shia Islam’s eighth imam and Iran’s most important pilgrimage site, which attracts millions of visitors each year.

Representatives from multiple countries are expected to attend the ceremonies, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Ceremonies will continue across the country for 40 days, with commemorative events planned until the first anniversary of Khamenei’s burial.