ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday thanked Iraq's leaders and people for hosting part of the funeral processions of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“What we witnessed during the solemn funeral procession clearly reflects the authenticity of your Islamic and Arab generosity, a noble act stemming from the essence of pure loyalty,” Pezeshkian said in a statement posted on X.

Khamenei’s body was taken through Iraq’s holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, where millions poured onto the streets to mourn the late Iranian leader, who was also a leading religious figure among Shiite Muslims. 

“The Iranian people will never forget those supportive stances, moving scenes, and historic moments of this solemn funeral procession,” Pezeshkian added, thanking Iraqi President Nizar Amedi, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, as well as the people of Iraq.

Pezeshkian led a high-level delegation accompanying the body to Najaf, although several outlets reported that he had to cut the trip short due to renewed US strikes.

The funeral processions came months after Khamenei and several members of his family were killed in the opening salvo of a US-Israeli campaign on Iran on February 28. The leader was succeeded by his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was said to have also been injured during the opening strike.

Khamenei was a leading opponent of the US and Israel, advancing the Islamic Republic’s ideology by supporting regional proxies against both countries and calling for their elimination.