Iraqi Prime Minister Ali ​Al Zaidi and senior Iraqi officials received the coffin at Najaf ​International Airport ahead of funeral ceremonies and a mass public ⁠procession, state TV reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also arrived in Najaf to participate in the ceremonies.

The official reception at the airport was attended by Iraqi ​political leaders and religious figures, before the coffin was ​carried through the city in public mourning events expected to draw large crowds ‌on Wednesday.

Iran’s state-organised funeral ceremonies, which began on Friday, have been designed as both a religious commemoration and a demonstration of continuity by the Islamic Republic following the death of the leader who ​ruled Iran for ​nearly four decades.

⁠The procession moved from Tehran to the seminary city of Qom before arriving in Iraq.

Iraqi ​authorities tightened security around Najaf ahead of the ​arrival as ⁠large numbers of mourners travelled from across Iraq and neighbouring countries.

The procession is due to continue to the Iraqi shrine city ⁠of ​Karbala before the coffin returns to Iran ​for burial in Mashhad later this week.