The funeral procession for Ali Khamenei, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, was held on Tuesday, July 7, in the Iraqi city of Najaf, attended by several of the country’s prominent Shia leaders and figures.
Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential Iraqi Shia leader, was among the figures whose presence at the ceremony made headlines. In recent years, al-Sadr has repeatedly taken positions divergent from those of the Islamic Republic and Iran-aligned groups in Iraq.
Nevertheless, in April of this year, Muqtada al-Sadr called on his supporters to gather in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square in support of Iran and in protest against the U.S. and Israeli war with the country.
Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement (Hikma), was another Shia leader who attended Ali Khamenei’s funeral procession in Najaf.
State media of the Islamic Republic, citing Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) media center, announced that the number of participants in the Najaf funeral procession had reached over 2.3 million people. However, no independent source has verified these figures so far, and according to state media reports, mourning processions continue to enter Najaf.
