Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but Mojtaba, the son who has succeeded him as Iran's supreme leader, did not make an appearance.
State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex.
Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh – the chequered scarf that is a symbol in Iran of militant revolutionary ideals and solidarity with Palestinians – as an imam recited funeral prayers.
In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shi'ite religious sites in neighbouring Iraq.
After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's coffin was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.
Mojtaba absent
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, thronged the Mosalla, including overnight. The Iranian metro railway network said it had clocked 7 million trips from late on Saturday to Sunday morning as people flocked to the centre.
There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba Khamenei. Officials have said he was wounded in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on 28 February, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.
The severity of his injuries remains unclear. So far, Mojtaba has only communicated through written statements amid speculation he is too badly wounded or too concerned over the risks of being targeted to emerge.
A funeral procession is planned for Monday in Tehran, followed by similar events in the clerical hub of Qom on Tuesday and in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday.
The funeral proceedings culminate in Khamenei's burial in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.
Authorities plan to mobilise millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging.
Demands for revenge
The government is eager to tout the mass mobilisation in support of the authorities after mass protests in January that rights groups say were quelled by a crackdown that left thousands dead.
The Middle East war is on hold following a ceasefire and an initial accord struck with the US. But both Washington and Tehran have warned they are ready to resume military action, and vengeance has been a major theme at the funerals.
"The killers [of Khamenei] must face punishment," a 38-year-old man who gave his surname as Miremadi told AFP as he attended the prayers.
"We're here to show the world that we back our revolution and our leader, and we demand revenge for the blood of our loved ones," added a 39-year-old woman who gave her surname as Bakand.
US President Donald Trump told the Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week for the events surrounding the funeral.
(with newswires)
