Huge crowds throng Tehran for Khamenei funeral ceremonies

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 crushing dissent at home, was killed aged 86 along with several members of his family and top officials in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war on February 28.

Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice under Shia Islam, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital where his body is lying in state, AFP correspondents said.

There was still no sign, however, of his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since being named supreme leader.

Other top Iranian officials who survived the war welcomed foreign dignitaries who paid their respects at the coffin on Friday before the complex opened to the public.

Sprayed with mists of water to keep cool in temperatures that may nudge 40C in Tehran over the next few days, thousands of women and men -- strictly segregated by gender -- filled the vast complex.

They beat their chests in a sign of grief, overlooked by a giant portrait of the former leader.

The coffins of Khamenei, with his black turban on top, and four other family members were placed at the front on a raised dais, AFP photographs showed.

Chants of "death to America" and "revenge, revenge" echoed around the venue.

"The leader was a father to us all. With his passing, we have all been left orphaned... He was truly unique and peerless," said Mohammad Mirsalehi, 38, a cleric.

Hamidreza Shabani, a student, 18, added: "We must rise up and, God willing, avenge the blood of our leader".

Authorities believe the ceremonies will mobilise more than 10 million people in the capital alone.

But before they began, Tehran was quieter than usual, with many normally busy streets free of the capital's notorious traffic and some residents telling AFP in Paris that they had decided to leave the city for the duration of the ceremonies.

Test of support

After five weeks of intense hostilities, the Middle East war is on hold after a ceasefire and an initial accord with the US. But both Washington and Tehran have warned they are ready to resume fighting at any time.

The killing of Khamenei after more than three-and-a-half decades in power created a new era in the Islamic republic shadowed by uncertainty.

His funeral is being viewed outside Iran as a test of support for the government, with authorities already shaken by mass protests in January that rights groups say were quelled by a crackdown that left thousands dead.

The funeral ceremonies will see the coffin remain three days in Tehran, before moving Tuesday to the clerical city of Qom, then Wednesday to neighbouring Iraq, before burial on Thursday in Khamenei's northeastern home city of Mashhad.

He will be buried with his infant granddaughter, son-in-law, daughter and Mojtaba Khamenei's wife Zahra Haddad Adel, who were all killed in the February 28 strikes.

'Call for vengeance'

Under Khamenei, Tehran for years provided support to armed groups around the region, including Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Delegations from both groups met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday while in town for the funeral ceremonies, state media reported.

The Hezbollah delegation was led by senior official and former minister Mohammed Fneish and included families of killed and wounded members, the group told Lebanese media, while Hamas said it was represented by the head of its political bureau, Mohammed Darwish, among others.

The coming days will be closely watched for signs of Mojtaba Khamenei, who has communicated only by written statements and is said to have been wounded in the same strikes, though the extent of his injuries was never made clear.

Significant security measures have been imposed, with roads blocked and people forced sometimes to walk several kilometres to attend the largest-scale public event in Iran since the burial of Khamenei's predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

Authorities will also want the event to go smoothly, deeply aware of the risk of crowd crushes that have marred similar events in the past, with TV broadcasting guidelines on how to stay safe.