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The body of Iranian military commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed in an Israeli air strike alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, was on Monday flown to Iraq where an official funeral was held.
His coffin was received at Baghdad airport by Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Mohammad Kadhim Al Sadiq, as well as Abd Al Aziz Al Muhammadawi, leader of the influential Iran-backed Hezbollah Brigades and Chief of Staff for Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces.
It was later transported to the Shiite holy city of Karbala in a motorcade before being taken on Monday night to the spiritual capital of Najaf, home to a shrine for revered Imam Ali.
In Karbala, Shiite militiamen in uniform along with supporters carried the coffin, which was later seen wrapped in the Iranian flag. It was taken to the shrines of Imam Hussein – grandson of the Prophet Mohammed – and his brother Imam Abbas. Supporters in the streets held pictures of Nilforoushan and Nasrallah, while others waived the flags of the Popular Mobilisation Forces and Hezbollah.
The body of Nilforoushan, a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was next expected to be flown to the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, Iran’s state-run Sepah news agency reported.
Another ceremony will take place at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on Tuesday before Nilforoushan is buried on Thursday in his hometown of Isfahan, Sepah added.
On Friday, the IRGC said the body was recovered from the site of a September 27 Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold.
In retaliation for the Israeli attack, Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel on October 1. The Iranian barrage was also a response for the assassination in July of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel has admitted it carried out the Beirut strike but has not commented on Mr Haniyeh's death in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Israel said several airbases were hit in the Iranian missile barrage, but the attack appeared to do little damage to infrastructure, with military operations unaffected. Most of the missiles were intercepted by Israeli air defence systems, with the country aided by allies including the US. Israel has threatened to retaliate, leaving the region on edge. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the response would be "lethal, precise and surprising".
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Baghdad and said the region was "facing extremely dangerous challenges". There is a "possibility of escalation and conflicts", with the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon at risk of leading to a "full-fledged war throughout the entire region", he added.
