Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi officials attend funeral ceremonies for Iran's Khamenei

Representatives of Tehran-backed militant groups attended the funeral ceremonies of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, with envoys from Hezbollah and Hamas meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, state media reported.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital to bid farewell to the late supreme leader, who had the final say in major state policies during his tenure.

Tehran has for years provided support to Palestine's Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Ansarallah, widely known as the Houthis – all designated as terrorist groups by the United States and other Western nations.

Iran has dubbed its anti-Israel network of allies, which also includes armed groups in Iraq, the "axis of resistance".

The Hezbollah delegation to Tehran was headed by senior official and former minister Mohammed Fneish, and included officials and families of killed and wounded members, the group told Lebanese media.

Hamas, meanwhile, said in a statement that its delegation was led by the head of its political bureau, Mohammed Darwish, and included other bureau members such as Bassem Naim.

In July 2024, Ismail Haniyeh, then the political leader of Hamas, was killed in his accommodation in Tehran in an Israeli operation after he attended the inauguration ceremony for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Also attending Saturday's ceremonies in Tehran were Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the leader of the Palestinian militant group and Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, and senior Houthi member Dhaif Allah al-Shami, state TV reported.

Most foreign officials and dignitaries paid their respects on Friday to Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 and was killed at the age of 86 along with several members of his family and top officials in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, triggering the war in the Middle East.

After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's ⁠coffin was put on display under glass outdoors, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter, all of whom were killed alongside him in the air strike.

After what authorities are billing as a ⁠massive procession in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom, the centre of Iran's Shiite hierarchy, for ceremonies on Tuesday.

From there the body will be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in the two Shiite holy shrine ⁠cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday. The body will return to Iran on Thursday for another procession in Mashhad, to be buried near the tomb of another of the medieval Shiite imams.

Authorities plan to mobilise millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)