Iran mourners call for defiance, revenge as massive funeral for Khamenei enters second day

A performer at the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday targeted US President Donald Trump in a poem read out to a huge crowd gathered in Tehran to attend the multi-day event.

The poet read out a strongly worded piece criticizing Trump, according to the Associated Press news agency. The AP reported the crowd responded with chants attacking the US and Israel.

Signs of anger over the loss of Khamenei have begun to appear on the second day of the slain leader’s funeral. Iranian state media shared an interview with a politician, who said on a show that mourners’ “main slogan” was “a call for blood vengeance.”

The coffin of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was carried out of the mosalla by several mourners at the funeral ceremony in Tehran on Sunday morning.

Prayers were sung over a tannoy to the crowd which responded in song. Some were seen drying their eyes with handkerchiefs in a Reuters live video of the scene.

Khamenei’s coffin, and several others, were carried to a raised platform at the funeral prayer site, with a smaller casket placed above the rest. A senior religious authority was to lead the prayer over Khamenei’s body, Iranian state media said.

Photos released by state media showed officials lined up in front of the coffin. Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was among those in the front row, Iranian state media reported.

Video from Reuters also showed three of Khamenei’s sons — Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud — at the ceremony. His successor and second son Mojtaba, who has not been seen in public since February, was not present.

This post has been updated with additional information.

Mourners gather at the Grand Mosalla to pay their final respects to Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Sunday.

Morning has broken in Iran’s capital Tehran where thousands of mourners have gathered for the second day of a public funeral for the country’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

A prayer ceremony began early morning local time at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran where Khamenei’s body has been lying in state since Saturday, according to Iranian semi-official media.

As dawn broke, thousands of mourners had already gathered outside the mosalla to pay their respects, as seen in footage from semi-official news agency IRNA.

Prayers echoed through a tannoy to the crowd with some gently waving the national flag.

Funeral prayers will also be offered to four members of his family who perished in the same US-Israeli strike that killed Khamenei, semi-official media said.

It’s Sunday morning in Iran and the country is in the second day of a multi-day funeral for its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While large crowds of mourners turned up at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where the coffins of Khamenei and several members of his family are on display, his son and successor Mojtaba has not been seen yet.

Here’s what we know:

Leader’s whereabouts: Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen since the start of the war in February. He also did not attend a private ceremony for his late wife earlier in the week. He has been communicating with his supporters only through written statements shared by Iranian media.

Funeral ceremonies: The second day is dedicated to funeral prayers for Khamenei. A public farewell ceremony, which began on Saturday, will continue after. Around 15 million people are expected to take part in the ceremonies in the coming days, said Iran’s Health Ministry. Iranian authorities also thanked foreign dignitaries for attending the funeral.

Mourners’ anger: A CNN team in Tehran spoke to some of the people attending Khamenei’s funeral. They expressed anger and sorrow at the loss of their leader, some vowing revenge.

In Lebanon: The Israeli military said it killed an “armed militant” in southern Lebanon on Saturday. The attack comes a little over a week after Israel and the Lebanese government signed a US-brokered agreement outlining an Israeli withdrawal from two areas in southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu-Trump meeting: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with US President Donald Trump, in which they agreed to meet in Washington soon, according to an Israeli readout. Trump confirmed the meeting in a phone interview with Axios’ Barak Ravid, and added that Netanyahu “knows who the boss is.”

Strait of Hormuz: Several vessels attempting to traverse the waterway on Saturday by hugging the Omani coast turned back abruptly, tracking data appears to show, highlighting difficulties in the strait despite early signs of recovery. At least three more vessels – which initially turned back around the same time as the other ships – later traversed the strait, closer to the Iranian side of the waterway.

Even as huge crowds fill the Iranian capital for funeral ceremonies for the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died in a US-Israeli strike, the whereabouts of his son, Iran’s new supreme leader, remain unknown.

Mojtaba Khamenei is yet to make a public appearance, adding to doubts about his health and fueling questions over who is leading the nation.

While the Iranian government has detailed a number of events, no plans have been announced for Mojtaba to appear, although any such decision would unlikely be made public in advance given security considerations.

Mojtaba is thought to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father, his mother and his wife.

He has remained in hiding since the war began in late February, communicating with his supporters only through written statements shared by Iranian media and attributed to him. He has never shown his face or used his voice.