Iranians gather for first Friday prayers during war

Worshippers were seen holding portraits of assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and waving national flags

Millions of Iranians attended Friday prayers across the country for the first time since the US assassination of their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Crowds gathered in central Tehran and other cities to pay their respects and offer prayers, as the conflict entered its second week with no clear end in sight. The US-Israeli attacks have left at least 1,332 Iranian civilians dead and thousands wounded, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani has said.

Tehran’s strikes have left 11 dead in Israel, while at least six American service members have been killed.

RT video footage showed crowds of men and women dressed in black, some carrying Iranian flags. Many worshippers held portraits of the assassinated supreme leader, chanted anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans and waved flags in support of their government amid the ongoing strikes.

Similar scenes were reported in other cities throughout the Islamic Republic, including Ilam and Borujerd in the west and Zahedan in the southeast, AFP news agency said.

Worshippers across several Middle Eastern countries also marked the third Friday prayers of Ramadan amid heightened tension and disruption caused by the ongoing military conflict.