Thousands of Iranians took part in nationwide tributes on Thursday for the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for nearly four decades until his death in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the Middle East war.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has succeeded him but has not appeared publicly since before the conflict, and it seemed unlikely he would attend the ceremonies held across the country.
State television broadcast images showing large crowds participating in rallies, many carrying portraits of the late revolutionary, including in Urmia in the northwest, Gorgan in the northeast, and the capital Tehran.
The national homage began at 9:40 am local time (0610 GMT), the exact moment when Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28 at his residence in Tehran, along with several senior Iranian officials.
The strikes that killed Khamenei marked the onset of the Middle East war, which rapidly spread across the region, prompting Iranian retaliatory attacks on US interests in the Gulf and strikes against Israel.
Due to the ongoing conflict, a formal state funeral for the late leader has yet to take place.
