Emotion and politics merge in Tehran at funeral of former supreme leader

Vast crowds loyal to the Islamic Republic have gathered in Tehran for the funeral ceremony of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was reportedly killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war.

Ayatollah Khamenei's second son and successor, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, was notably absent from his father's funeral. However, Ali Khamenei's other three sons, Masoud, Mostafa, and Meysam, were present at the service held in the capital on Sunday.

Iranian state media announced that six days of ceremonies will be held across Iran and neighboring Iraq. The late ayatollah is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

International media organizations operating in Iran are subject to restrictions, including a condition that none of their material be used on the BBC's Persian Service, as reported by the BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet, who is reporting from Tehran.