Iranian leaders gathered Sunday for a second day of funeral ceremonies for late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the absence of his son and designated successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, drew attention.
The elder Khamenei ruled the Islamic Republic from 1989 until he was killed aged 86 in an airstrike on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi, joined Sunday's ceremonies, along with huge crowds paying their final respects in Tehran.
But Mojtaba has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March. He is said to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father.
The late supreme leader's other three sons, Masoud, Mostafa and Meysam, all attended the service.
It was held at Tehran's Grand Mosalla religious complex and led by prominent Shia cleric Ja'far Sobhani, a 97-year-old scholar who teaches at seminaries in the holy city of Qom.
Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran. Later in the day, Khamenei's body will be moved out of the Grand Mosalla, where it is lying in state, as part of preparations for processions through the capital Monday.
The vast complex and surrounding streets were packed with mourners on Sunday morning, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
With temperatures forecast to exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), many were handed refreshments as they made their way to the Grand Mosalla, some carrying Iranian flags or portraits of the late Khamenei.
Authorities have said they expect more than 10 million people to take part in the ceremonies in the capital.
Strict security measures have been imposed and official media have warned of a risk of crowd crushes.
"More than 4,000 people visited medical centres located in and near Tehran's Mosalla," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Sunday, but no deaths had been recorded.
Footage from state television showed Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with the U.S., attending the prayers.
Also seen was Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards.
Khamenei's coffin, draped in the Iranian flag and topped with his black turban, was placed alongside those of four relatives also killed in the February strikes, including an infant granddaughter.
'Killers must face punishment'
After five weeks of intense fighting, the Middle East war is on hold following a cease-fire and an initial accord struck with the U.S. But both Washington and Tehran have warned they are ready to resume military action.
"The killers (of Khamenei) must face punishment," a 38-year-old man surnamed Miremadi told AFP as he attended the prayers.
"If our leaders are about to proceed with negotiations in this manner, our people will not agree with it," he said.
People were seeking revenge, not peace and negotiations, he added.
Khamenei's funeral is being viewed outside Iran as a test of support for the government following mass protests in January that rights groups say were quelled by a crackdown that left thousands dead.
"We're here to show the world that we back our revolution and our leader, and we demand revenge for the blood of our loved ones," said one woman surnamed Bakand, a 39-year-old homemaker attending Sunday's prayers.
Delegations from Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, Iranian state media reported, while representatives of Yemen's Houthi rebels and Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad also attended the funeral ceremonies.
After the processions through Tehran Monday, Khamenei's coffin will be moved Tuesday to Qom, then Wednesday to neighboring Iraq, before the burial Thursday in his northeastern hometown of Mashhad.
