KABUL (Pajhwok): The coffin of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has arrived in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, where funeral ceremonies are scheduled to begin on Wednesday morning, media reports said.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported that Khamenei’s coffin arrived in Najaf on Tuesday.
According to the report, the funeral procession is scheduled to begin at 6:00am local time before the coffin is transferred to Karbala later in the day.
It said that further funeral ceremonies would be held in Karbala along the roads leading to the shrines of Imam Hussein and Abbas ibn Ali.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has travelled to Iraq to attend the funeral ceremonies.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian is also expected to hold talks with the Iraqi prime minister during his visit.
Earlier, Mehr News Agency reported that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Khamenei’s eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, would also attend the ceremonies in Iraq.
According to the announced programme, Khamenei will be buried on Thursday at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.
Meanwhile, Fars News Agency reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had declared Wednesday a public holiday in Iraq to mark the funeral ceremonies.
hz/kk
