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Vast crowds loyal to the Islamic Republic have gathered in Tehran at a funeral ceremony for Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war.

His second son and successor, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, was conspicuously absent from his father's funeral. Ali Khamenei's other three sons - Masoud, Mostafa and Meysam - all attended the service held in the capital on Sunday.

Iranian state media say six days of ceremonies will span several locations across Iran and neighbouring Iraq, before the late ayatollah is buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.

The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran.

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