Massive crowds of Iranians marched through the streets of Tehran on Monday in a funeral procession for former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in memorial ceremonies aimed at projecting unity at a sensitive time for Iran's clerical leaders.
Drone footage on state television showed many tens of thousands of people gathering on a wide street in Tehran in the biggest day of the state procession so far. The coffins of the slain leader and four of his family members were driven through the streets, while fire hoses sprayed water from above to keep marchers cool.
The ceremonies, which began on Saturday, have been full of symbolism in an effort to project unity at a time of deepening divide among the hardline and pragmatist voices inside the country. Minority, conservative hardliners have voiced their opposition to negotiations taking place with the US, after American and Israeli strikes killed Mr Khamenei on February 28.
The absence of his son and successor Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has intensified questions as to where power currently lies in Iran. Believed to have been disfigured by wounds in the attack that killed his father, the younger Khamenei has not been seen in public since the war began.
In written statements, Mojtaba Khamenei has issued support for negotiation efforts with Washington but the hardliners have continued chanting at nightly rallies, demanding he make an appearance or issue an audio recording.
The memorial ceremonies held so far have offered a pause from the weeks of tension over negotiations. President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Parliament Speaker and senior negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, were seen standing near Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force commanders.
Mr Khamenei's other three sons were also present, praying beside their father's coffin at a vast Tehran prayer hall. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also seen for the first time since the war.
The funeral processions have been full of religious and political messaging, signifying Mr Khamenei's life and Shiite Islam. The route for the procession will take in the holy city of Qom in Iran, and Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before his burial at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad on Thursday.
The ceremonies began at the Grand Mosalla, built for Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. They have drawn members from Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance, with officials from Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis present in Tehran.
