Thousands of mourners gather for funeral of Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei | World News

A days-long funeral is under way in Tehran for Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mourners packed the courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque on Saturday as his coffin and those of his family members went on display.

An empty chair representing Khamenei stood at the centre, flanked by Iranian flags, and his black turban was laid on top of his casket.

The man who headed Iran for nearly 37 years was killed alongside relatives when an Israeli airstrike hit his Tehran compound on 28 February.

His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named successor but hasn’t been seen in public since. It’s seen as unlikely he will be appear at the funeral due to Israeli threats to kill him.

The coffin of Mojtaba’s late wife and two other family members who were also killed in the strikes, are also on display alongside his father.

There were chants including “Death to America” and “Our word is one! Revenge! Revenge!” among the crowd at the Grand Mosque on Saturday.

Many wept, draped themselves in flags and carried pictures of the former leader.

Millions more are expected on the streets of Iran’s capital tomorrow for what Dominic Waghorn, Sky’s international affairs editor, called the “mother of all funerals”.

Authorities have laid on transport, food and accommodation for people who want to attend.

After the official funeral service on Saturday, six days of ceremonies follow that will see Khamenei’s body lie in the Grand Mosalla for three days.

On Sunday evening, the coffins will leave the mosque and be taken to Qom, then to Najaf and Kerbala in Iraq – three cities that are the main centres for the Shia branch of Islam that dominates Iran.

The body of Khamenei, who became the country’s second supreme leader in 1989, will be buried in his birthplace of Mashhad on Thursday – the city where the country’s holiest pilgrim shrine in located.

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Iran warns US ahead of funeral

A new monument showing his clenched fist fringed by two flying missiles was also unveiled in Tehran’s Revolution Square ahead of the funeral.

Sky’s international editor, who’s in the city, said the events were a public show of strength and unity after the US and Israel started the war just over four months ago.

However, he said there appeared to be a generational divide with some younger people saying they wouldn’t attend the funeral.

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Why are Iran and US still exchanging attacks?

Iran’s hardline leadership, which routinely uses violence to crack down on any dissent or protest, has remained intact despite the assassination of the supreme leader and other senior government figures.

It will be a blow to President Trump, who at the start of the war said it was the perfect chance for Iranians to overthrow their rulers.

America and Iran are currently in a 60-day ceasefire period as they look to firm up a permanent truce.

Some attacks have continued but a Iranian military commander has warned of “harsh retaliation” if Israel or the US launch strikes during the funeral.