Black-clad crowds of mourners poured onto the streets of central Tehran from dawn on Monday morning, ahead of the funeral procession for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“It is a must for us to be here. He was our imam,” Ali, 59, told CNN. Being here showed the solidarity of the people of Iran, he said.
The procession route was a river of flags — Iranian, religious and others for causes more political: the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah.
Mourners chanted non-stop, with no sign of the ayatollah’s coffin more than an hour after the procession’s official start time. Parents pushed strollers with infants, as men, women and children of all ages crammed onto the street.
“He was our leader. He was a great man,” 25-year-old Fatemeh told CNN. “I am going to continue his path.”
From an overpass spanning the procession route, people were seen streaming towards the main axis of the procession.
CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports.
