Iran held a state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday, as senior clerics, government officials, foreign dignitaries and thousands of mourners gathered to pay their final respects.
Khamenei, whose 37-year leadership ended after he was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes earlier this year, is being honoured through a week of nationwide funeral ceremonies intended to demonstrate public support for the Islamic Republic.
His coffin, along with those of several family members reportedly killed in the attacks, was placed in state at the main prayer hall built in honour of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
According to the planned funeral schedule, Khamenei’s body will be taken to the Shiite holy cities of Qom, Najaf and Karbala before being laid to rest in Mashhad, home to Iran’s holiest shrine.