Reporting from Tehran says thousands of pro-government, religious hardliners gathered after Friday prayers to voice anger at the US–Israeli bombing campaign and to mourn Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pleitgen said the crowd represents only a slice of Iranian society — Friday prayer congregations in the capital are typically made up of staunch conservatives — but argued the turnout indicates the state is still capable of mobilising large numbers when it wants to.

He added that he and his producer, Claudia Otto, entered Iran by road, describing CNN as the first US network reporting from inside the country since the conflict began. On arrival, he said they witnessed black smoke from a pre-dawn strike, but saw no immediate signs of widespread panic in the areas they travelled through, with shops open, supplies available and no obvious fuel queues.