Farewell ceremony for Khamenei underway in Iraq’s Najaf VIDEO / UPDATED

A farewell ceremony for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is being held in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.

The ceremony follows the arrival of Khamenei’s body in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on the evening of July 7, where mourning events were also held before the procession continued to Najaf.According to Iranian media reports, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian travelled to Iraq to attend the ceremony but returned to Tehran overnight amid the ongoing exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran.

The commemorative events are also being attended by influential Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr.08:27

The body of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been transported to Iraq, where large-scale memorial ceremonies will continue before his burial, according to Press TV.

Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 during the first day of a military operation involving Israel and the United States, will be honoured in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

According to the report, Khamenei is scheduled to be buried on July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad. The burial will take place on the grounds of the world’s largest mosque complex.

Public farewell ceremonies for the late ayatollah were held in Tehran from July 4 to July 6 before the transfer of his body to Iraq for the next stage of commemorations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada