Khamenei’s body to be transferred to Iraq on July 8, Tehran mayor says

NEWSROOM — The body of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, will be transferred to Iraq on July 8 following funeral and farewell ceremonies in Tehran and Qom, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said Wednesday.

Zakani announced the schedule and said authorities were still evaluating the funeral procession route in the capital. “On July 8, the body of the slain revolutionary leader will be transferred to Iraq,” he said.

Farewell ceremonies will be held at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla on July 4 and 5, followed by the main funeral procession in Tehran on July 6, with a separate ceremony in Qom on July 7 before the transfer the following day. Zakani said the proposed route would run along Damavand, Enghelab and Azadi streets before continuing toward the Lashgari Expressway, though the final section was undecided. “The route will be selected based on a capacity that can accommodate 20 million people,” he said.

The transfer follows Khamenei’s reported request to be buried in Najaf, one of Shia Islam’s holiest cities and home to the shrine of Imam Ali. Najaf has long held deep religious significance for Iran’s clerical establishment, and Khamenei spent part of his religious studies in Iraq before rising to Iran’s highest office.