Hawzah News Agency- According to Iranian officials, Iraqi authorities and institutions are rapidly making arrangements for the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, scheduled for July 8 in Najaf and Karbala.
Citing Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran, multiple media outlets have reported that the funeral procession for the martyred Imam will take place in Iraq on July 8.
Sources close to the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad have confirmed that the body of the martyred Leader, Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, will be transferred to Najaf Airport on July 8. An official reception ceremony will be held at Najaf International Airport, where a number of religious and social dignitaries and officials will receive the body. The procession will then move to the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) for visitation and farewell rites. Subsequently, the body will be transferred to Karbala for a massive public funeral procession in the area between the two holy shrines. Following the ceremony, the body will return to Najaf Airport for transfer to the holy city of Mashhad.
Among the Iraqi bodies involved in organizing the funeral are the administrations of the Holy Alawi, Hussaini, and Abbasi Shrines, the governorates of Najaf and Karbala, the Ministries of Transport, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi), and the Prime Minister's Office.
Massive crowds of Iraqi citizens from various cities and provinces are expected to participate in the funeral, with some circles estimating the turnout to exceed one million. Iraqi political, religious, tribal, cultural, and academic figures, activists, and movements will also take part in the historic event.
In interviews with Al-Ahd news website, Iraqi citizens and elites stressed that the funeral of the martyred Leader, Imam Khamenei, in Iraq will be a historic and momentous event, reflecting the loyalty and appreciation of the Iraqi people for this great figure who consistently took honorable stances in supporting, backing, and assisting Iraq through the most difficult and darkest circumstances.
They added that holding Imam Khamenei's funeral in Iraq demonstrates the depth of relations and bonds between the Iraqi and Iranian nations—bonds that no conspiracy has managed to sever. According to them, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran under the leadership of the late Imam Khomeini, the Iraqi people have viewed revolutionary Iran as their true backbone. This became clearly evident after the fall of Saddam's regime, amid the American occupation, al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorism, and the abandonment of Iraq by many Arab and Islamic governments.
In addition to the funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are expected to travel to the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate in the processions to be held in Tehran and the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad between July 4 and 9. Relevant Iranian institutions, in coordination with Iraqi counterparts, have already begun implementing measures to organize and facilitate the travel of Iraqi citizens to Iran via land border crossings and airports.
Your Comment