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The funeral ceremonies are taking place less than three weeks after Iran and the US signed a preliminary agreement to end the war and reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, through which 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass.<\/p>\n
The two countries also gave themselves two months to reach a final deal that covers Iran’s nuclear programme, US sanctions and a permanent truce.<\/p>\n
Mediator Qatar said Iranian and US negotiators made “positive progress” at indirect talks in Doha last week following a four-day exchange of strikes and that their next meeting would be scheduled after the conclusion of the events for Khamenei.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, there will be a funeral procession and prayers in the central city of Qom, the centre of Iran’s Shia Muslim clerical establishment.<\/p>\n
The ceremonies will then move to the Iraqi shrine cities of Karbala and Najaf on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
They will end on Thursday, when Khamenei will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine in his home city of Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n