Iran Sends Leader's Funeral Through Iraq as Signal of Closer Ties

Iran is routing Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral through Iraq's most sacred religious sites—Najaf and Karbala—before burying him July 9 in northeastern Iran. The unusual cross-border path requires Iraq's cooperation and shows the two countries are working together. The move also displays Khamenei's importance across the wider Shia Muslim world while Iran picks his replacement.