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Huge crowds of people in Iran are gathering in Iran’s capital Tehran, to pay their respects at the funeral of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US airstrike on his compound, at the start of the recent war with Iran.
The former Supreme Leader’s body is lying in state at the Grand Mosalla, ahead of his burial in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday.
The Iranian authorities say they expect between 15 and 20 million people to attend the ceremonies across Iran and Iraq over the coming days.
Masses of supporters of the Islamic regime have gathered, chanting slogans against the US and demanding revenge for the Ayatollah’s killing.
Khamenei was killed during joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran in late February, in what quickly spiralled into a wider regional conflict.
US President Donald Trump said Iran’s government was “dying to settle” a peace deal to end the war after a preliminary agreement was struck between the two, adding: “We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”
Much of central Tehran will be locked down over as the funeral ceremony gets under way. Khamenei’s body will lie in the Grand Mosalla for three days, alongside the remains of family members who were also killed in the air strikes.
Ben Brown presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Joe Inwood and Nawal Al Maghafi.
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