As the mourning continues in Iran, the authorities are presenting ceremonies for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as both a religious farewell and a demonstration of national unity, Al Jazeera reports.

“The US and Israel aimed to divide Iran. They wanted to kill our leaders, ordinary people, and commanders to achieve that. But our leader prevented that division. Iranians are here to appreciate what he has done for Iran,” a man who identified himself as Hamid tells Al Jazeera.

Marzieh, another person attending, said he showed up to honour Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 40 years.

“We came here to tell our martyred leader that his blood is not wasted. We came here to renew our allegiance to him,” he says.