Iranians mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Israeli-US strike

Tens of thousands of Iranians crowded a vast outdoor prayer complex in Tehran to mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for 37 years before his death in an Israeli-US strike.

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Let us wail!

Mourners held up posters and printed sheets with pictures of Khamenei and his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is poised to succeed him. Iran is staging mass funeral processions to display public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal. After lying in state indoors for senior leaders and foreign officials, Khamenei's coffin, along with those of family members killed in the same airstrike, was brought to an outdoor stage for the public to view from a distance.

Mourners filed into the courtyard, beating their chests and wailing. A compere encouraged the crowds through a loudspeaker, invoking Shi'ite traditions of sacrifice. The Israeli strike that killed Khamenei also claimed the lives of his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law. Their coffins, draped in Iranian flags, included a tiny one for the 14-month-old granddaughter.

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Everybody chant oppressed, everyone say Hussein

Iran's military and security institutions vowed revenge, and chants of "Death to America" echoed through the complex. The funeral occurs at a critical moment for Iran, which has been buoyed by surviving what it perceived as an existential war. However, analysts suggest that behind the veneer of unity, public support for the Islamic Republic has worn thin. Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been close to the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has not been seen in new images since his father's death. The conflict, which began with Khamenei's killing on February 28, has seen thousands of US and Israeli airstrikes hit military, energy, and civilian infrastructure, killing over 3,000 people according to state media. Iran retaliated with strikes on US bases, missiles fired toward Israel, and hits on energy targets in Gulf Arab states, disrupting oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and killing at least 13 US troops.

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Death to America