Iran Uses Khamenei's Funeral Route Through Iraq to Project Regional Power

Ayatollah Khamenei, killed in a February airstrike, will be buried Thursday in Mashhad. His coffin travels first through Najaf and Karbala—Iraq's holiest Shia sites—with Iran's President attending. The routing anchors Khamenei's legacy to transnational Shia religious networks, signaling institutional continuity across borders as Iran's clerical leadership stabilizes after wartime disruption.