The National:

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, days after the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking his arrest for war crimes.

Top army generals, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders and representatives of regional militant groups were present in the capital as Iranian leaders mourned Mr Raisi, 63, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

It was Mr Haniyeh's first public appearance since the ICC announcement on Monday.

“I come in the name of the Palestinian people, in the name of the resistance factions of Gaza, to express our condolences,” he told mourners at Tehran University.

He recalled meeting Mr Raisi during Ramadan and repeated calls for support for the Palestinian cause, saying the Muslim world must “fulfil its obligations”.

The funeral ceremony was one of several planned before Mr Raisi's burial in Mashhad on Thursday.

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