NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf with thousands of mourners present.
The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral for Khamenei began Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West. His body will later be taken from Najaf to the city of Karbala before returned to Iran.
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Shiite mourners chant slogans as the perform ritual self-flagellation with chains outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Iraqi Shiite soldier chants on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mourners sit outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are distributed outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mourners wave Shiite religious flags and a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Talks between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf Tuesday and into Wednesday raised risks that the interim agreement to end the monthslong war that engulfed the Mideast could break down. The U.S. military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, before Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.
The body of Khamenei arrived in the Iraqi city considered among the holiest for millions of Shiite Muslims around the world on Tuesday, alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and other senior officials. They were welcomed by mourners and supporters holding portraits of the late supreme leader, and others performing self-flagellation on the streets.
Khamenei’s body was in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag, encased in glass. Mourners waved flags of Iran as well as red and black flags symbolizing mourning and revenge.
“We the people of Iraq will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies,” said Jaafar Jawad, who is participating in the funeral. "His arrival to us is the greatest possible honor, and God willing we will be loyal, and repay a little of his due in the holy city of Najaf.”
The funeral prayers in Najaf will take place at the Shrine of Imam Ali, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, and will be led by Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary.
In Karbala, also a holy city for Shiite Muslims where the Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet, was killed in 680 AD, Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq's top Shiite religious authority will lead the prayers at the Imam Hussein Shrine.
Khamenei was killed in late February in wide-scale U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. He was among several senior Iranian leaders killed in strikes during the war. He was 86.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies, which are unfolding over several days. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.
Shiite mourners chant slogans as the perform ritual self-flagellation with chains outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Iraqi Shiite soldier chants on the eve of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mourners sit outside the Imam Hussein Shrine on the eve of of funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Karbala, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are distributed outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mourners wave Shiite religious flags and a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Imam Ali Shrine on the eve of funeral ceremonies in Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lawyers for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk are expected to keep questioning the reliability of DNA testing that prosecutors said links the defendant to the suspected murder weapon when a weeklong hearing continues Wednesday.
A member of Tyler Robinson's defense team interrogated a DNA analyst from the FBI on Tuesday about the techniques she used to connect Robinson to a rifle found wrapped inside a towel at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot in September while speaking to a crowd.
Defense lawyer Michael Burt cast doubt on the analyst's conclusions — a theme that's likely to come up again during the five-day preliminary hearing.
“She can't match Mr. Robinson to the questioned samples,” Burt concluded.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride countered that the reliability of the DNA testing could be examined if the case goes to trial. He suggested the preliminary hearing was not the time to take up the matter.
“The point is there are explanations that are susceptible to different interpretations and arguments,” McBride said. “The court is going to determine if it meets the threshold of reliability at trial."
Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty in the case. They are trying to convince Judge Tony Graf that they have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial on an aggravated murder charge.
Robinson has not yet entered a plea and his attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence. They have, however, sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
FBI analyst Amanda Bakker said after Robinson’s roommate provided a DNA sample for comparison, she was able to rerun her tests and attribute all of the DNA to two people.
Investigators found the towel and suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.
DNA on the towel matched to two people, Jennifer Faumuina with the State Bureau of Investigation testified. One was Robinson’s roommate, Lance Twiggs, and the other was very likely Robinson, she said. Twiggs, a key figure in the prosecution’s case, will not testify in person this week, but prosecutors have said they plan to introduce a recorded statement.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs, who was also his romantic partner, that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”
In a surveillance video shown in court from the day Kirk was killed, Robinson could be seen climbing over a railing onto a rooftop, crouching down and running to a site overlooking where the activist was speaking, former State Bureau of Investigation Agent David Hull testified Tuesday.
Hull said that after shooting Kirk, Robinson ran back across the roof, dropped to the ground and fled on foot.
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester questioned Hull’s handling of the crime scene on the day of the shooting. She also asked about a bullet that was found on campus at a different location than the alleged site of the shooting.
Hull said that bullet was traced back to a law enforcement officer who had “cleared” his weapon, ejecting an unused bullet.
Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on the prosecution’s claim that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.
During one of several appearances on campus by Robinson on Sept. 10, Hull said the defendant went to the amphitheater where Kirk was later shot and contacted representatives of Turning Point USA, a group co-founded by Kirk that galvanized the conservative youth vote to help Trump win a second term.
The investigator did not detail what occurred during that interaction or if members of Kirk’s security team were present.
Robinson turned himself in after the shooting. Prosecutors allege he sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred."
Robinson’s defense team pushed back Tuesday on the idea that he was hostile to Kirk’s politics. Defense attorney Richard Novak sought to block prosecutors from introducing a statement describing the traditional Christian values of Turning Point USA.
“This doesn’t say anything about Mr. Robinson’s state of mind,” Novak said about the statement from Turning Point USA board member David Engelhardt. “I don’t think that this court should be deciding — based on the record before it — where, if at all, politics and religion intersect.”
The judge ruled that the Turning Point statement was relevant and would be “provisionally admitted” with a final decision at a later date.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride speaks during a preliminary hearing in Fourth District Court for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
DNA analyst Amanda Bakker testifies during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Utah Department of Public Safety Sergeant Jennifer Faumuina testifies during a preliminary hearing in Fourth District Court for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Erika Kirk leaves the Fourth District Courthouse, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah, after a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott)
Defense attorney Kathryn Nester, left, talks to Tyler Robinson during a preliminary hearing in Fourth District Court for Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
