TEHRAN: 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 US and Israel.
Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital.
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.
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