Huge crowds of people in Iran are gathering in Iran’s capital Tehran, to pay their respects at the funeral of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US airstrike on his compound, at the start of the recent war with Iran.

The former Supreme Leader’s body is lying in state at the Grand Mosalla, ahead of his burial in his hometown of Mashhad next Thursday.

The Iranian authorities say they expect between 15 and 20 million people to attend the ceremonies across Iran and Iraq over the coming days.

Masses of supporters of the Islamic regime have gathered, chanting slogans against the US and demanding revenge for the Ayatollah’s killing.

Khamenei was killed during joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran in late February, in what quickly spiralled into a wider regional conflict.

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s government was “dying to settle” a peace deal to end the war after a preliminary agreement was struck between the two, adding: “We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”

Much of central Tehran will be locked down over as the funeral ceremony gets under way. Khamenei’s body will lie in the Grand Mosalla for three days, alongside the remains of family members who were also killed in the air strikes.

Ben Brown presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Joe Inwood and Nawal Al Maghafi.

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A new law has come into effect in China which critics say is aimed at erasing minority groups.

The government calls it the law for “Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress” and says the legislation will strengthen social cohesion, for example by making Mandarin the language of education, official business and public spaces. But rights groups argue it’s designed to force groups such as Uyghurs and Tibetans to assimilate with the Han Chinese majority.

Amnesty International has warned the law will “further institutionalise… policies of forced assimilation”. The UN rights chief Volker Türk has called for the law to be repealed, saying it will restrict freedom of language, education and religion.

We ask BBC Monitoring’s China Media Analyst Kerry Allen about the powers this new law gives Beijing, why critics are concerned and whether it will expand China’s ability to target activists living abroad.

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The funeral procession for Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has begun its journey through Tehran.

Thousands of people have gathered in the Iranian capital, with crowds seen waving flags and holding up pictures of the late ayatollah.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than 35 years, was killed in US-Israeli air strikes in February – his funeral began on Friday, and events are planned over the coming week.

A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran is currently holding while talks on a permanent peace deal continue – Axios quoted US President Donald Trump as saying that talks had been paused for events surrounding the funeral.

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