Iran begins official funeral ceremony for leader Ali Khamenei

Iran has commenced the official funeral ceremony for its leader, Ali Khamenei, more than four months after his reported death in a US-Israeli attack. Thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran on Saturday morning, holding red banners symbolizing revenge and chanting slogans against the United States and Israel.

Khamenei, who was 86, had served as Iran's supreme leader since 1989. His reported death occurred on February 28, the first day of the Iran War. The ensuing week-long ceremony is set to begin with his coffin lying in state at the Mosalla Mosque in Tehran for three days before burial in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

The itinerary includes transporting Khamenei's coffin to Qom in Iran, as well as to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, cities significant for Shia Islam. The marking of the ceremony began Friday with the coffin, draped in the Iranian flag, being brought into the Mosalla Mosque, where invited guests, including the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Ahmad Vahidi, paid their respects.

Notably absent is Khamenei's successor, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly seriously injured in the same attack. He has not appeared publicly. The funeral takes place amidst a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US, linked to a memorandum of understanding intended to end the conflict.