Iran officially began on Saturday morning six days of public funeral ceremonies for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state television reported, with processions due to continue in Iraq before his burial.

Thousands of mourners carrying red banners, a symbol associated with calls for revenge, gathered in the courtyard of Tehran's Grand Mosalla ahead of the arrival of Khamenei's coffin, chanting "death to America" and "revenge, revenge", according to an AFP journalist at the venue.