Iran plans three-day funeral for late supreme leader

Iran said on Tuesday it will hold a three-day state funeral for late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed by US-Israeli strikes on the first day of the Middle East war, at a date to be announced.

Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic republic for nearly 37 years, was killed in his home in central Tehran on February 28.

A state funeral initially planned for March 4 was postponed due to the war.

"A three-day public funeral is planned," Tehran Deputy Mayor Mohammad Amin Tavakolizadeh was quoted as saying by state television on Tuesday.

Tavakolizadeh did not specify when the funeral would take place but said it could be in early Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which falls in mid-June.

He said funeral events would take place in Tehran, as well as in the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, where Khamenei would be buried.

"In Tehran, the ceremony will last at least 24 hours," Tavakolizadeh stated, adding that up to 20 million people are expected to attend.