Najaf, Iraq. Thousands of mourners gathered in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday for funeral processions honoring Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as dayslong ceremonies continued following his death.

At several points, the processions turned chaotic as mourners surged toward the coffin, forcing pallbearers to lower it to prevent losing control.

The funeral ceremonies began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace, and much of daily life in Tehran as massive crowds paid tribute to the leader who ruled Iran for decades while maintaining a confrontational stance toward the West. His body was later flown to Najaf before being taken to Karbala and is expected to be returned to Iran for burial.

Khamenei was killed in late February during large-scale US and Israeli strikes on Iran that sparked the war. The 86-year-old supreme leader was among several senior Iranian officials killed in the attacks.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the United States and Iran appear to be on hold until after Khamenei's burial.

Meanwhile, renewed military exchanges in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday and Wednesday raised concerns that the interim agreement aimed at ending the monthslong conflict could collapse. The US military said it launched strikes on Iran early Wednesday after Tehran allegedly attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile strikes targeting Kuwait and Bahrain.

Khamenei's body arrived in Najaf on Tuesday, where it was received by mourners carrying his portraits and by senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The coffin, draped in Iran's national flag and enclosed in a glass case, was taken to the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites. Funeral prayers were led by Muhammad Taqi al-Hakim, a senior scholar at the Najaf seminary.

As the coffin entered the shrine, large crowds pushed forward to touch it. Some mourners threw themselves onto the casket while attendants struggled to maintain order, urging pallbearers to keep it close to the ground to prevent it from falling.

"We, the people of Iraq, will remain a thorn in the eyes of the enemies," said mourner Jaafar Jawad. "His arrival here is the greatest possible honor, and, God willing, we will remain loyal and repay a small part of our debt in the holy city of Najaf."

The procession later continued to Karbala, another sacred city for Shiite Muslims and the site where Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, was killed in 680 A.D. Thousands gathered around the shrines despite the desert heat as Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a representative of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, led funeral prayers.

Crowds in Karbala also repeatedly surged toward the coffin, which nearly fell several times while being carried between the shrines. Inside the Imam al-Abbas Mosque, organizers lowered the casket in an effort to control the crowd as mourners pressed forward to touch it, seek blessings, or help carry it.

Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to appear at the funeral ceremonies. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.