Mourners bid farewell to Khamenei at funeral procession in Iraq's Najaf

(8 Jul 2026) IRAQ IRAN KHAMENEI NAJAF SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTION SUMMARY: LENGTH: 3:31 ASSOCIATED PRESS Najaf, Iraq - 8 July 2026 1. Young men walking and carrying Hezbollah flags and posters of former Shiite leaders including Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 2. Various of men chanting, UPSOUND (Arabic): “There is no God but Allah, America is the enemy of Allah” and “No, no to America” 3. Top shot of people walking in the funeral procession 4. Various of mourners surrounding the truck carrying the coffin of Khamenei 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Jamil, mourner from Basra in southern Iraq: “Today, we came from all of Iraq's provinces to express our sadness, gratitude and our loyalty to this great leader. This leader who gave his right arm for the sake of Islam, for the sake of the religion, the sake of the (Shiite) sect, and the sake of Muslims. This man, the man who stood for the liberation of Jerusalem. who stood by Palestine and Gaza. This man did not forget the blood of Muslims. He did not forget the blood in Palestine and the blood of oppressed people, and he fought against arrogant people and tyrants in all parts of the world.” 6. Various of Khamenei’s coffin inside glass shield carried on truck, crowds gathering around 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali al-Nabhani, mourner from Dhi Qar in southern Iraq: “This is a message that says that our axis (referring to a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the Axis of Resistance) has won and the other party was defeated, and we are the one who set the terms and impose the conditions. And now the core of the global economy is in our hands, from the (Strait of) Hormuz to Bab el-Mandab (which connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden).” 8. Various of participants chanting, UPSOUND (Arabic): "Israel will disappear" and "we don’t accept humiliation" 9. Various of mourners carrying poster of Khamenei and his son Mojtaba Khamenei 10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali al-Nabhani, mourner from Dhi Qar in southern Iraq: “The last message is an emotional one: This man was close to the people, he was close to his nation, he was close to those who love him, and he was close to poor people. Therefore, today we came here with our tears, sadness, pain, and grief, to tell him: 'O master, you who stood with us during the days of the Islamic State group, al-Qaida, and rejected the occupation of Iraq and helped with all you could, today we have come to pay even a small part of the debt of gratitude that we owe you.'" 11. Various of mourners carrying posters of Khamenei while beating their chests 12. Military helicopter flying over the funeral procession 13. Various of mourners at the funeral STORYLINE: Thousands of mourners dressed in black flooded into the Iraqi city of Najaf on Wednesday for the funeral procession for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before returning to Iran. Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. He was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war. He was 86. Talks between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. AP video by Ali Sadiq Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...