AhlulBayt News Agency: The funeral procession for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and his family members has officially begun in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, with massive crowds of mourners gathering to pay their respects.
Iraqi media reported that millions of Iraqis, along with pilgrims from several other countries, have participated in the funeral ceremonies.
According to Iraq’s Al-Ahd TV, thousands of mourners arrived in Najaf before dawn, waiting in the streets and around the shrine of Imam Ali (AS) for the procession to begin.
The bodies arrived at the holy shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, where they were carried on the shoulders of thousands of Iraqi mourners during a majestic funeral procession.
The coffins were ceremonially circled the sacred shrine before funeral prayers were offered over the martyrs.
Mourners carried the coffins on their shoulders while chanting religious slogans, reciting elegies, and expressing solidarity with the people of Iran.
The airport and surrounding areas were filled with grieving crowds who participated in prayers and commemorative rituals.
According to the official schedule, the funeral procession will continue in Najaf before moving to the holy city of Karbala later on Wednesday.
In recognition of the occasion, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi declared Wednesday an official public holiday across Iraq to coincide with the funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader and his family.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi attended an official reception ceremony at Najaf International Airport to receive the body of the martyred Leader ahead of funeral rites in Iraq.
The multi-day funeral began on Friday with Ayatollah Khamenei’s body lying in state at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla and foreign dignitaries and religious figures paying their respects. It continued on Saturday and Sunday with a public farewell and prayers, respectively.
On Monday, millions packed the streets of Tehran as the funeral convoy made its way through the Iranian capital.
Millions of mourners gathered at the Holy Jamkaran Mosque in Qom on Tuesday to offer funeral prayers for the martyred Leader.
The final funeral rites are set to take place on Thursday in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, where Ayatollah Khamenei will be buried at the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, in accordance with the martyred Leader’s will.
Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated, alongside some of his family members, on February 28, the first day of the 40-day war of aggression waged by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran.
The Assembly of Experts subsequently appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
.....................
End/ 257
Your Comment