(CNN)-- Thousands of mourners gathered at dawn on Sunday in the Iranian capital Tehran for the second consecutive day of the funeral of the country's former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Funeral prayers began at dawn local time at the Grand Imam Khomeini Prayer Ground in Tehran, where Khamenei's body has lain since Saturday, according to semi-official Iranian media.

At dawn, thousands of mourners gathered outside the prayer ground to pay their respects, as shown in footage broadcast by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Prayers and supplications echoed through loudspeakers, while some waved the national flag.

Semi-official media reported that funeral prayers would also be held for four members of Khamenei's family who died in the same US-Israeli airstrike that killed the former Supreme Leader.

Khamenei's funeral rites continue for several days, with his body to be buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, one of the holiest cities for Shia Muslims and the city of his birth.

A funeral procession is also planned in the capital Tehran on July 6.

Additional ceremonies will be held on July 7 in Qom, on July 8 in Najaf and Karbala, and on July 9 in Mashhad, which is considered the spiritual capital of Shia Muslims in Iran.