Thousands of mourners, senior clerics and foreign dignitaries gathered in Tehran on Friday as Iran began a week-long state funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, months after the country’s longtime Supreme Leader was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes. The ceremonies, stretching across Iran and Iraq, are being presented by Tehran as a show of national unity after the end of Khamenei’s 37-year rule and come just days after an interim US-Iran truce created conditions for the funeral to go ahead. The funeral ceremonies mark the beginning of a week-long series of processions across Iran and Iraq, organised by Iranian authorities following the end of Khamenei’s 37-year rule. Officials have presented the events as a display of public support for the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary ideals, news agency Reuters reported. Coffin placed in state as mourners gather Late on Thursday, Khamenei’s coffin was unveiled before a large crowd of grieving supporters who chanted, wept and beat their heads in rhythm with mourning hymns while flowers were thrown toward the bier, the Reuters report said. On Friday, the …