Vast crowds of Iranians loyal to the Islamic republic massed in Tehran on Saturday for the start of marathon funeral ceremonies for supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with authorities seeking to send a message of defiance after the war with the US and Israel. Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989 and pursued a course of confrontation with the West while
Iran began a dayslong funeral Saturday for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, months after an airstrike killed him at the start of the war. He was 86. Khamenei's body was to be on display at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran's capital. Early Saturday, mourners wearing black walked through the streets of Tehran, emptied of vehicle traffic,
Iranian leaders began paying their respects on Friday before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. A