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Huge crowds gathered at Tehran's Grand Mosalla complex on Sunday for funeral prayers for Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ceremonies mark the second day of public mourning following Khamenei's death at age 86 in an airstrike on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Prominent Shia cleric Ja'far Sobhani led Sunday's service. Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded in the February attack, was notably absent from public view. However, three of Khamenei's other sons attended the prayers, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior officials including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

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What is observed today in the emotions, tears, and passionate presence of the people in various scenes is the most telling sign of his position among the Iranian nation and the free people of the world.

Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran, with authorities expecting over 10 million people to participate in the ceremonies. Mourners, many carrying Iranian flags and portraits of Khamenei, braved temperatures exceeding 35C to pay their respects. Khamenei's coffin, draped in the Iranian flag, was placed with those of four relatives also killed in the strikes.

Following a ceasefire and an initial accord with the US after five weeks of hostilities, the Middle East war is currently on hold, though both Washington and Tehran have warned of potential renewed fighting. Khamenei's funeral is being closely watched internationally as a gauge of government support after mass protests occurred before the war. President Pezeshkian stated that the public's emotions demonstrated Khamenei's standing among the Iranian nation and the world, accusing Israel of being a "destabilising factor."

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Muslims have shown that they will not surrender to oppression and bullying.