The remains of Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were carried through two of Shia Islam's holiest shrines in Iraq on Wednesday, even as the US struck 170 Iranian targets over two nights and Iran retaliated against American bases in the region.
Huge crowds filled Najaf for a procession to the mausoleum of Imam Ali, where mourners jostled to touch the coffin. “This is an opportunity not to be missed – to take part in the funeral of the person who challenged the power of America and Israel,” Mohammed al-Bayati, 30, told AFP news agency. Chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” rang out as the coffin was transported on a lorry. A senior cleric led funeral prayers inside the shrine.
“Khamenei's funeral processions in Iraq and Iran coincide with US strikes on 170 targets and Iranian retaliation.”
Later, the coffin was flown to Karbala, 60km north, and taken through more crowds to the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson whose death in the 7th Century cemented the Shia–Sunni schism. Khamenei, killed on the first day of Iran's war with the US and Israel, will be buried on Thursday in Mashhad, north-eastern Iran. Massive crowds have already begun marching through Mashhad's streets.
But the funeral ceremonies unfolded against a backdrop of escalating military exchanges. US Central Command said it had struck 170 Iranian targets in 48 hours to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's army responded with retaliatory strikes on US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The regional crossfire threatens to unravel an interim truce. President Donald Trump said he considered the memorandum of understanding with Iran to be “over”, adding: “I don’t want to deal with them.” Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, vowed that the strait would remain under Iranian management. “The strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through US threats,” he wrote on X.
Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since being reportedly seriously wounded in the same Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February that killed his father, his wife and several other family members. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who flew to Iraq for the ceremonies, reportedly returned home early on Wednesday after the latest strikes.
With both sides vowing further retaliation, the burial of a leader who embodied defiance may prove a prelude to more bloodshed.