Najaf: Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad-Taqi al-Hakim led funeral prayers over the coffin of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. Ayatollah Taqi Hakim, a senior scholar of the Najaf seminary and a prominent member of the Hakim family, performed the funeral prayers at the Shrine of Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia Imam, attended by tens of thousands of mourners, on Wednesday.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Najaf witnessed a massive, historic funeral procession for the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution, with officials and media estimating the turnout of people, including Iraqi citizens, pilgrims, as well as political and religious figures, to bid farewell to Ayatollah Khamenei to be more than 2.3 million.

On Tuesday evening, the bodies of the martyred Leader and several of his family members were formally received by high-ranking officials from both Iran and Iraq at Al Najaf International Airport.

The momentous events, marked by a sea of devoted followers and the deep grief of mourners, will continue in the evening (Wednesday) at the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) in the sacred city of Karbala, before the final burial at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, Northeastern Iran.