Dayslong funeral for late Supreme Leader Khamenei begins in Iran

Iran's dayslong funeral for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began on 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.

Khamenei's body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq.

Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah ‌Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but Mojtaba, ​the son who has ⁠succeeded him as Iran's supreme leader, did not make an appearance.

State TV showed ‌Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind ‌the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex. In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is staging a week of mass ‌funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shi'ite religious sites in neighbouring Iraq.

A turban is placed over the coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on stage, as people gather for a public farewell ceremony to pay their respects to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran on Sunday. Reuters

After a day lying in ⁠state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's coffin was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.

Iran's top officials and brothers of the country's new supreme leader emerged into public view on Sunday to attend the funeral prayers for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signalling a new confidence in their safety.

Their presence before hundreds of thousands of people in the capital Tehran would have been unthinkable during the Iran war, which saw airstrikes in its opening moments on Feb. 28 kill the 86-year-old Khamenei, his family members and other officials.

Israel also targeted others who appeared publicly during the war, in at least one case likely using their public appearance to fix their position for a strike.

The coffins of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family are displayed on a platform as mourners attend the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. AP

But still unseen was Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father. Israel has threatened to kill him as well as he leads a theocracy now negotiating with the United States over a permanent end to the war and over Iran strangling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Esmail Qaani, who leads the Guard's expeditionary Quds Force, also attended.

Chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Ahmad Vahidi (centre) arrives to pray for Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with mourners during the second day of funeral ceremonies at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran on Sunday. AFP

Mourners attend funeral prayers for the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. AP

Khamenei's body will be transported to cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq, with authorities planning to drive his casket and others through the streets of Tehran on Monday. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which will end Thursday as he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei's place of birth.

Authorities offered no attendance count for the event Saturday and Sunday. Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.

Agencies