Ali Khamenei funeral: Mojtaba Khamenei missing, but three brothers pay their last respects in Tehran | Today’s news
Thousands of mourners gathered in Tehran on Sunday for the second day of funeral services for Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as three of his sons made a rare public appearance while his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained out of the public eye.
The ceremony, which took place at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, is among the biggest public events in Iran since Khamenei and four members of his family were killed in Israeli airstrikes on February 28, allegedly directed by US intelligence.
Three sons attend, Mojtaba absent
Ali Khamenei’s eldest son Mostaf and his younger sons Masoud and Meysam, all clerics, attended the funeral prayers on Sunday.
However, there was still no sign of Mojtab Khamenei, who was named Iran’s new supreme leader shortly after his father’s death but has yet to make a public appearance.
Iranian officials said Mojtaba was wounded in the Israeli airstrikes, although the extent of his injuries remains unclear. So far, he has communicated only through written statements.
His absence is expected to remain a focus as funeral rites continue throughout the week, culminating in Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on Thursday.
The funeral procession continues
The funeral procession will continue in Tehran on Monday before moving to the religious city of Qom on Tuesday and Iraq on Wednesday. Khamenei will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on Thursday.
Senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, 97, led the funeral prayers before Khamenei’s body was moved from the Grand Mosalla compound.
Iran projects resilience
In addition to mourning Khamenei, who has led the Islamic Republic for more than three decades, the funerals showed the resilience of Iranian authorities after five weeks of war with Israel and the United States.
Parliament speaker and chief US negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on the X program that the “proud and invincible nation of Islamic Iran unanimously” paid tribute to their “martyr”.
Authorities expect more than 10 million people to attend the funeral in Tehran. Sunday was declared a public holiday to facilitate attendance, while extensive security measures and medical facilities were deployed due to crowd safety concerns.
High military leaders reappear
Ahmad Vahidi, the newly appointed commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, attended the funeral for the second day in a row after staying out of the public eye during the recent conflict.
Esmail Qaani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, also made a rare public appearance, telling Iranian state television that Khamenei’s “blessed end” was fitting after a lifetime of “striving”.
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The ceremony is dominated by calls for revenge
The funeral also became a platform for public calls to avenge Khamenei’s death despite the ceasefire currently in place between Iran and the United States.
“The killers (of Khamenei) must face punishment,” one mourner told AFP.
Another participant said: “We are here to show the world that we support our revolution and our leader and demand revenge for the blood of our loved ones.”
Both Tehran and Washington have warned that they are ready to resume military action despite the initial ceasefire agreement.
Regional allies pay tribute
Delegations from Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, according to Iranian state media.
Representatives of Yemen’s Houthi movement and Palestinian Islamic Jihad also attended the funerals, underscoring Iran’s ongoing ties to armed groups across the Middle East.
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