Iran's late supreme leader's funeral: Procession held in Iraq's holy city of Najaf

Ali Khamenei may not have been Iraq's leader, but in the Iraqi shrine city of Najaf, he was given the appearance of a send-off usually reserved for heads of state. The influence of Khamenei's Iran has been divisive in this country, despite majority Shia Iran and Iraq's brotherly ties. But at a time when outsiders, the US and Israel, threaten Iran with bombs from above, it seems solidarity trumps all else. The enormous numbers seen on the streets of Najaf were in some ways lesser proof of Khamenei's popularity and more an indictment of Israeli and American foreign policy. Repeatedly, people have brought up the word Gaza. There is a disgust at having observed the wholesale slaughter of women and children, civilians in Gaza, and various other acts of Israeli aggression observed in the region in the last few years. And in this kind of context, very much it feels like there is Islamic solidarity around a figure they see who has stood up to Israeli and US aggression. They see that in Ali Khamenei. As the crowds approached the surrounds of Imam Ali's shrine, the third holiest site in Shia Islam, emotions overwhelmed. Repeatedly, comparisons were made between Imam Hussein, the ultimate Shia warrior killed facing a greater foe at the Battle of Karbala, and Khamenei's fight against Israel and America. The same respect was paid to his 14-month-old granddaughter who was also killed in the strike. Today, the grandchild of Said Ali Khamenei, she was also killed with him, as with his daughter, as were his children, as were the children of Gaza, Palestine, and the Muslims. History repeats itself. Death in defiance of tyranny is so intrinsic to the Shia tradition that Khamenei's killing has inspired lionization and sympathy in millions of Shias that would likely live on long beyond his assassination.