Photos: Ayatollah Khamenei Funeral Procession In Iraq
Iran's dayslong funeral for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. Khamenei’s body was taken Wednesday to the Iraqi city of Najaf, holy for millions of Shiite Muslims worldwide, and also to Karbala where Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, was killed in 680 AD. Thousands attended the funeral processions in Iraq before the body was to be returned to Iran.
Mourners gather in prayer during the funeral procession for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. | Photo: AP/Anmar Khalil
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The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, covered with flower petals, is carried by mourners outside the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, early Thursday, July 9, 2026. | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried through a tightly packed crowd as mourners jostle to reach and touch it outside the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, early Thursday, July 9, 2026. | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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Mourners surround a truck carrying the coffins of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during the funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 6, 2026. | Photo: AP/Vahid Salemi
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Shiite mourners chant slogans as the perform ritual self-flagellation with chains outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried through a crowd as mourners jostle to reach and touch it outside the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, early Thursday, July 9, 2026. | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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A truck carrying the coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes its way through mourners during a funeral procession in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. | Photo: AP/Anmar Khalil
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The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried surrounded by mourners outside the Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, early Thursday July 9, 2026. | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra
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A mourner, draped in an Iranian flag, reacts during funeral prayers for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. | Photo: AP/Hadi Mizban
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Mourners gather in prayer during the funeral procession for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. | Photo: AP/Anmar Khalil
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The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried by mourners to the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. | Photo: AP/Anmar Khalil