NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) July 8 – Mourners marched through Iraq’s holy city of Najaf on Wednesday, following the coffin of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as his six-day funeral procession, which drew huge crowds in his home country, pressed on across the border.
People carrying large portraits of the late leader gathered along the route and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” as Khamenei’s coffin was driven on a large truck through the streets.
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Iraqi and Iranian flags fluttered above the crowd, alongside the banners of powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militias whose supporters joined the procession.
Item 1 of 5 People attend a funeral procession for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, in Karbala, Iraq, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
Najaf holds special significance for Shi’ite Muslims worldwide as the burial place of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders also arrived to take part in the procession, which is expected to continue to the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala before the coffin is returned to Iran for burial.
(This story has been refiled to fix the dateline)
Reporting by Reuters in Najaf; Additional reporting by Muayad Hameed; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Andrew Heavens
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