The body of Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was moved in public for the first time since his assassination, during a farewell ceremony attended by thousands of relatives of those killed in the war, Iranian state media reported.
The overnight move came before planned “public farewell ceremonies” on Saturday and Sunday at a mosque in Tehran, the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, and amid warnings by Iranian officials against any attempts to bomb the country during the funeral.
Mr Khamenei was killed in a wave of US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The first public appearance of a coffin allegedly carrying his body took place on Thursday beside the husseiniyeh of the Imam Khomeini mosque, at what Iranian authorities said was the site where he died.
The gathering included families of members of the armed forces and the office of the supreme leader, state news agency Irna reported. Images released by Iranian media showed mourners dressed in black, weeping and chanting religious slogans as the coffin was brought to the venue.
Iman Attarzadeh, spokesman for the funeral headquarters established after Mr Khamenei's death, said the ceremony was the first opportunity for selected families of those killed in the conflict to pay their respects. It remained largely limited to invited mourners rather than the wider public, although state TV broadcast footage from the event.
The funeral events planned for Mr Khamenei include a stop in Iraq. Public "farewell ceremonies" are to take place on Saturday and Sunday in Tehran. A funeral procession is scheduled for the capital on Monday, followed by a second procession in the religiously significant city of Qom on Tuesday.
His body will arrive on July 7 at the airport in the Iraqi city of Najaf, where an official funeral will take place. Another funeral for mourners will be held on Wednesday in the city, followed by ceremonies in Karbala. The final rites will take place on July 9 in Mashhad, north-eastern Iran, where he is expected to be buried.
The funeral will be eagerly watched for any sign of the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was elected as his father's successor in March but has not been seen in public since. The supreme leader's representative in India played down that prospect two days before ceremonies began, telling India Today that "security doesn't allow him to come".
The organising committee said an “unparalleled display of public participation” was expected for the funeral.
Tehran's deputy mayor for social and cultural affairs, Mohammad Amin Tavakolizadeh, said this month that the procession in Tehran was expected to last at least 24 hours, with preparations under way to host up to 20 million people. Iran's population is about 90 million.
Officials and foreign dignitaries, including from Russia and China, will offer condolences at events on Friday. Russia is to send its former president Dmitry Medvedev. Pakistan and India will also be represented.
Mourners from Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh are expected to join the ceremonies in Mashhad. Mr Tavakolizadeh said local authorities along the procession route should prepare for a large crowd.
