Thousands of Iranians turn out to mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran

For many Iranians, the day began with the news they had been dreading.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed by Iranian state media on Sunday following a deadly wave of strikes launched by the United States and Israel.

Thousands of people gathered to pay their respects in Enghelab Square as the warm glow of the Sunday morning sun shone on the Iranian capital. Men were seen hugging and crying, leaning against closed windows, unable to contain their grief.

Civilians marched to the square as veiled women held up images of the Supreme Leader and sang in groups, while others simply sat on the side of the road, paying respects from a distance. Opponents of the regime, who turned out in their thousands to protests that were brutally repressed in January, largely stayed away from the streets on Sunday.