Vast crowds throng Tehran for Ali Khamenei funeral ceremonies

Vast crowds of Iranians loyal to the Islamic republic massed in Tehran on Saturday to begin almost a week of funeral ceremonies for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which authorities want to send a message of defiance to the West after the war with the United States and Israel.

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, AFP correspondents said.

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.

There was still no sign of Khamenei's son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been unseen in public since being named. 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 days, thousands of women and men -- strictly segregated by gender -- filled the vast complex.

AFP photographs showed the coffins of Khamenei and four other family members at the front on a dais.

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

"The leader was a father to us all. With his passing, we have all been left orphaned... There was no one like him. 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.

- Marathon funerals -
After five weeks of war, the conflict is on hold after a ceasefire and an initial accord with the US. But both the US and Iran have warned they are ready to resume fighting at any time.

The killing of Khamenei after over 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 put down in 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.

The tiny coffin of his granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani, who according to state media was just 14 months old, was prominently displayed.

- 'Call for vengeance' -
Surviving officials showed their grief and displayed a united front on Friday.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and top negotiator in peace talks with the US, appeared tearful while Ahmad Vahidi, named chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor was killed in the strikes, made his first public appearance in that post.

"The nation's call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world," said Ghalibaf, who urged Iranians to turn out en masse.

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 airspace expected to be closed for what is set to be 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.

- 'Final goodbye' -

The coffin will lie in state until Monday, when a procession will pass through Tehran. On Tuesday it will move to the clerical hub of Qom, before moving on Wednesday to cities holy to Shia Muslims in neighbouring Iraq, then proceeding for burial on Thursday in Khamenei's home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Officials who survived the war showed their grief and displayed a united front on Friday, with parliament speaker and top negotiator in the US talks Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visibly tearful.

Top Iranian officials paying their respects included Ahmad Vahidi, who was named chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guards after his predecessor was killed in the same strikes that killed Khamenei but had not been seen since.

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.

Other relatives killed in the strikes will also be buried, including Ali Khamenei's infant granddaughter.

International guests paying respects Friday included Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been mediating between Iran and the US, and Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the Russian security council, who attended on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.

Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, both backed by Tehran, were also represented, as was the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

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