Iran’s New Supreme Leader Absent from Ayatollah’s Funeral Ceremony

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, was absent from the funeral of his late father and former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, thousands of people and senior Iranian officials gathered on Sunday to pay their respects to the deceased leader. Ali Khamenei’s three other sons—Masoud, Mostafa, and Mesam—attended the event. Also present were President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Bahidi.

It was previously reported that Mojtaba was seriously wounded during an American-Israeli attack that resulted in the death of his father, and since then, he has not appeared publicly. The late Supreme Leader had governed Iran from 1989 until February of this year. Funeral ceremonies began on Friday, with additional events planned throughout the week in Iran and Iraq. Iranian officials estimate that between approximately 11 to 20 million people will participate in the ceremonies.

The body is currently placed at the Grand Mosalla complex in Tehran. The funeral procession is being led by 97-year-old senior Shia cleric Jafar Shobani. Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran. On Monday, the body will be paraded from the Grand Mosalla through the capital. All events have been meticulously planned, and according to reports, Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence is linked to threats from Israel aiming to assassinate the new Supreme Leader.

According to the American news website Axios, quoting US President Donald Trump, talks paused temporarily amidst the ongoing funeral ceremonies in Iran. Trump remarked, “One strike could kill everyone, but then there will be no sides left to negotiate with, so we will not negotiate.” Axios noted these comments. Trump also said he was surprised to see Iranians mourning and had expected them to harbor hatred toward the late Khamenei.

The coffin of Khamenei lies alongside that of his one-year-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani and coffins of three other relatives. During his tenure, Ali Khamenei pursued a confrontational policy toward the West, supporting anti-American and anti-Israeli groups such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. After the procession in Tehran on Monday, the coffin is scheduled to be taken to the city of Qom on Tuesday and then to a major Shia site in Iraq on Wednesday. On Thursday, he will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad.