Three sons of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside their father’s coffin and those of four other family members in Tehran on Sunday, as Iran’s six-day state funeral continued, but his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, made no appearance for the second consecutive day.
State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also prayed behind the coffins, while Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh as an imam recited funeral prayers.
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, thronged the Mosalla, including overnight, with the Iranian metro railway network clocking 7 million trips from late Saturday to Sunday morning as people flocked to the centre.
There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, the new Supreme Leader, who was severely injured in the airstrike that killed his father on February 28, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war. Mojtaba’s face was reported to have been disfigured and he is said to have suffered a significant injury to one or both legs.
Whether Mojtaba Khamenei ultimately appears before the ceremonies conclude could become one of the most closely watched symbols of Iran’s effort to project continuity after one of the most consequential leadership transitions in the history of the Islamic Republic.
After a massive procession through central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom for ceremonies on Tuesday, before being flown to Iraq for processions in the Shia holy shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday. The late leader is to be buried in Mashhad on July 9.
