Large crowds of people attended funeral prayers for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s in the Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Sunday on the second day of a week of ceremonies.
Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, could be seen at the Grand Mosalla complex in the city where his body has been lying in state.
The service was led by prominent Shia cleric Ja’far Sobhani, a 97-year-old scholar who teaches in seminaries at the holy city of Qom.
Mourners dressed in black walked to the site, carrying banners and flags honouring Khamenei and also calling for the killing of United States President Donald Trump.
The 86-year-old, together with four members of his family were killed in an airstrike on 28 February, the first day of the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
Khamenei’s funeral, delayed at the height of the war, is taking place as Tehran and Washington observe a fragile ceasefire with talks to end the conflict on hold until afterwards.
Three of his son were seen praying besides his coffin on Sunday, but Mojtaba who assumed the position of supreme leader following his father’s assassination was not present.
He has remained in hiding at an undisclosed location since taking office due to the ongoing war, and is said to have been wounded in the strike.
Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran, and later in the day, Khamenei’s body will be moved from the Grand Mosalla complex for processions through the capital on Monday.
Authorities have said they expect more than 10 million people to take part in ceremonies in Tehran.
After events in the capital, Khamenei’s body will be taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karabal before being buried next Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad.