A view of Najaf city
Iraq declares Wednesday a public holiday for Khamenei funeral
BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has declared Wednesday a public holiday across Iraq to mark the funeral ceremony of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The announcement came Tuesday in a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Office, which described Khamenei as the “religious authority and leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iraqi authorities have completed preparations for the funeral procession in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, with officials saying there will be no restrictions on who can attend and large numbers of mourners expected from inside and outside the country.
Khamenei was killed on Feb. 28 in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike that targeted senior Iranian leaders in Tehran at the start of the 2026 war. His body is being brought to Iraq as part of a multi-city funeral that has passed through Tehran and Qom before the Najaf and Karbala ceremonies, with burial to follow in Mashhad, his Iranian birthplace.
On Monday, Najaf Governor Youssef Kanawi said the governorate had organized two programs for the ceremonies. “The first is an official ceremony to be held on Tuesday at Najaf International Airport, attended by the heads of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities, alongside leaders of political blocs, the Coordination Framework, members of parliament and other official figures,” Kanawi told the Iraqi News Agency.
The second will be a public procession beginning at 6 a.m. Wednesday from the overpass near Sadr Hospital on Airport Road, passing through Najaf’s old city before ending at the Imam Ali Shrine.
Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani allocated 150 buses to carry mourners from Basra to Najaf and back, his media office said Sunday, while the Popular Mobilization Forces sent service and engineering vehicles to Najaf and Karbala on Saturday to help with logistical preparations.
The preparations follow Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Baghdad to coordinate arrangements last week, and trips by senior Iraqi officials to Tehran for memorial events ahead of the procession through Najaf and Karbala.