Mass prayer held in Tehran for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

A mass prayer ceremony has been held in Tehran beside the coffin of Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

According to ISNA, large crowds dressed in black mourning attire filled the square outside the city's main congregational mosque despite the intense heat.

Organisers were forced to spray water over the crowd and carefully manage the flow of mourners to prevent a crush.

Many people were unable to enter the mosque complex before the prayer began. However, when the first words of the prayer were heard, the crowd stopped and turned towards Mecca. After the religious ceremony concluded, mourners began calling for the gates to be opened so they could pay their final respects to the late ayatollah.

"O martyr, your path lives on," participants chanted after the prayer.

As tensions gradually eased, some mourners began leaving the square. The public farewell at the mosque will continue until the evening, while a funeral procession is scheduled to take place in the Iranian capital on July 6.

Further memorial events will be held in Qom, as well as in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Ayatollah Khamenei is scheduled to be laid to rest on July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad.