Tehran, July 3 -- The coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, arrived at the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah in Tehran on Friday, July 3, as mass mourning began across the country ahead of six days of funeral ceremonies expected to draw millions of people.

Khamenei was assassinated in a joint US-Israeli attack on February 28, an event that triggered weeks of conflict across the Middle East. Ahead of the official programme, Iran's state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), aired footage showing his flower-covered coffin being brought to the site of the attack during a private ceremony.

The footage showed mourners accompanying the coffin through a densely packed crowd, with white dove-shaped decoratio...