Vast crowds gathered in Tehran for the funeral ceremony of Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died in what Iranian state media described as joint U.S.-Israeli strikes at the outset of the ongoing war. The funeral procession marked the beginning of six days of ceremonies planned across Iran and neighboring Iraq.
Ayatollah Khamenei is slated to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday. His second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is considered his successor, was notably absent from the funeral service held in the capital on Sunday. However, three of Ayatollah Khamenei's other sons—Masoud, Mostafa, and Meysam—were in attendance.
International media organizations operating in Iran, including the BBC, are subject to restrictions on their reporting, with specific limitations placed on coverage related to the Persian Service. Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran.