A multi-kilometer procession stretched through the streets of Tehran, where the funeral ceremony for Iran's deceased supreme leader Ali Khamenei is taking place, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The authorities had forecast that at least 15 million people would take part in the event.

Azadi Square, where the coffin with the ayatollah has already been brought, is full, and people continue to arrive. The street of the same name has been colored black and red by flags bearing images of Ali Khamenei.

Among those gathered are not only Tehran residents; people from all over Iran have come for the funeral events.

On Tuesday, a similar funeral procession will take place in the city of Qom, and on July 8 Khamenei's body will be taken to the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Najaf, and Karbala. He will be returned to the homeland of the “martyred father of Iran” on July 9 — to his native city of Mashhad, where the burial will take place.

Khamenei was killed as a result of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28. It was not possible to hold a farewell ceremony for him amid the strikes that continued throughout March, and as a result the authorities decided to postpone the event, citing the need to prepare the infrastructure.