Massive crowds have filled Iraq's Shia holy cities and their shrines to mourn Iran's slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, during a funeral procession ahead of his burial back home.
At the gilded Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, mourners on Wednesday carried the coffin as it swayed from side to side, and many jostled and pressed forward in a desperate attempt to touch it.
In Karbala, mourners waved Iranian flags and held portraits of Khamenei, as they waited for the coffin to reach the main procession route.
Iran began on Saturday six days of funeral ceremonies, which included a series of locations linked to the religious, political and ideological pillars of the country.
It dedicated a day to neighbouring Iraq, which has close ties to Tehran and is home to some major shrines revered by Shia Muslims.
The ceremonies, which started in Tehran and passed through Iran's holy city of Qom, will culminate with Khamenei's burial on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad in northeast Iran.
Iran hopes the marathon ceremonies will project strength and unity after the Middle East war, which started with US-Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei and several relatives on February 28.
The procession in Iraq came as the United States and Iran renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prayers and shouts
Since the early morning, despite the scorching heat, vast crowds filled the streets of Najaf, as Khamenei's coffin rode slowly on the back of a truck towards the shrine of the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali.
There, the call for prayer echoed through the vast courtyards where hundreds of clerics waited for hours before they held prayers over Khamenei's remains.
From Najaf, the coffin was brought by land to Karbala, another Shia holy city, where many arrived in the early hours of the morning, or even a day before, to secure a spot in the main sites and their surrounding alleyways.
Water sprinklers offered some relief from the heat as mourners chanted in response to a voice blaring from loudspeakers, praising Iran, its leaders and the commanders of Tehran's "axis of resistance", which includes Iraqi armed groups.
The coffin entered Karbala in the evening, advancing slowly through massive crowds, heading towards the main procession route leading to the shrines.
In Karbala, like in Najaf, food and drink stalls lined the streets, while security forces were heavily deployed and medical teams stood ready for emergencies.
Um Ali, who refused to give her name, said she travelled from Baghdad with her sons.
"My conscience brought me. My religion brought me," she said, adding "we have done nothing but weep" since Khamenei was killed.
The remains of Khamenei's relatives who were killed with him, including his granddaughter, were quietly brought early Wednesday to the shrines of both cities.
Najaf is the main centre of Shia religious seminaries, and is also home to Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shia religious authority.
Many senior Shia clerics have studied, taught or lived there, including Khamenei's predecessor Khomeini.
Karbala is home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, whose death in the seventh century remains central to Shia history.
Iran-Iraq ties
The bond between Iraq and neighbouring Iran is shaped by both religion and politics.
Iran backs influential politicians but also armed groups in Iraq, some of which joined the Middle East war after Khamenei's death, attacking US facilities in Iraq in support of Tehran.
Iraq is also allied with the US, and for decades successive governments have struggled to maintain a delicate balance between the two foes.
Today, the challenge is growing as the US steps up pressure on Iraq to curb Iran's influence and disarm Tehran-backed groups.
For mourner Haidar Jaafar, speaking before the funeral, even though he doesn't support Iranian policies in Iraq, he "stands with Iran against the Israeli enemy".
"Even those who do not align with Iran" would attend, he said, because Khamenei was killed "by Israeli-American hands".
