Iran Routes Khamenei's Funeral Through Iraqi Shrines, Signaling Tehran-Baghdad Alignment

Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral moves from Tehran through Iraq's Najaf and Karbala before burial July 9 in Mashhad's Imam Reza shrine. The cross-border routing through Shia Islam's holiest sites requires Iraqi government cooperation and projects functional alignment between Tehran and Baghdad. The itinerary consolidates Khamenei's stature across transnational Shia geography while the Assembly of Experts convenes to select his successor.