A plane carrying the body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei departed Najaf, Iraq, and is en route to his hometown Mashhad for burial, according to journalist Sapir Lipkin.
A plane carrying the body of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei departed Najaf, Iraq, for Mashhad on Thursday morning, according to a report by journalist Sapir Lipkin. The flight, reported at 09:55 Jerusalem time, represents the latest movement of the body as it makes its way to its intended burial site.
The Zioneer reported earlier Thursday (00:36 Jerusalem) that the coffin was en route to Iran following funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala. Subsequent reports detailed delays: first, Iranian authorities cited extended ceremonies in Iraq as the reason for a postponement of the burial in Mashhad. Later, a separate report attributed the delay to strikes on bridges and access roads near Mashhad. The earliest reporting (also 00:36) described thousands of mourners in Karbala. The source quality for these reports evolved from single-source accounts to official statements from Iranian authorities regarding the delay.
The Zioneer has previously reported on the funeral processions in Tehran and Najaf, including the arrival of the body in Najaf for the international leg of mourning rites (reported July 7–8). The body's journey from Tehran to Iraq, and now back to Iran, follows a week of official mourning.
The report of the plane's departure from Najaf remains based on a single source and has not been independently confirmed. The exact timing of the burial in Mashhad remains uncertain, given the earlier delays and the unresolved reports of infrastructure damage.
8 developments
- StrongIranian sources say Khamenei's body exhumed from temporary grave in Qom
- DevelopingCoffins of former Iranian Supreme Leader and family brought to Jamkaran Mosque for prayer
- DevelopingHamas delegation attends Khamenei's funeral in Tehran
- DevelopingIranian state TV: part of Khamenei's funeral to be held in Iraq's Shiite holy cities
Source and signal
- Internal intake