Khamenei’s Three Sons Attend Funeral as Iran Keeps Successor Under Wraps

Three Sons of Slain Khamenei Attend Funeral as Iran Keeps New Supreme Leader Out of Public View

Three sons of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei joined mourners at his funeral prayers in Tehran on Sunday, while his successor and son, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained absent from public view, fuelling continued speculation over his condition.

State television showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei standing beside the coffins of their father and four other family members during prayers at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla. The funeral came months after Ayatollah Khamenei and several relatives were killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.

The Islamic Republic has launched a week-long series of funeral ceremonies for the late leader, whose body will later be taken to several Shiite holy sites in Iran and neighbouring Iraq before his final burial.

Thousands Gather for Funeral Prayers

Large crowds, including soldiers, seminary students and civilians, gathered at the sprawling religious complex to pay their respects. Many waved Iranian flags and banners carrying anti-US and anti-Israel slogans, while others joined collective prayers led by senior clerics.

On Saturday, Khamenei’s coffin was placed on public display beneath a glass enclosure alongside those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter after senior Iranian officials and foreign dignitaries paid their respects during a private lying-in-state ceremony.

President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf were among the senior leaders who attended Sunday’s prayers. Television footage also showed Masoud Khamenei overcome with emotion during the ceremony.

Mojtaba Khamenei Remains Out of Sight

Despite widespread expectations, Mojtaba Khamenei did not appear at the funeral, and Iranian authorities have not released any recent images of the country’s new supreme leader.

According to people familiar with his inner circle, Mojtaba sustained serious injuries during the February 28 attack, including facial injuries and significant wounds to one or both legs.

His absence disappointed some mourners who had hoped to see him publicly for the first time since assuming the country’s highest office.

“Until the last moment, before the prayer began, I kept telling those around me that I hoped he himself would come. That was our only wish,” a young mourner told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Funeral Processions to Continue

Authorities expect millions of people to participate in the coming days as funeral processions move across Iran and Iraq.

Following a major procession in central Tehran on Monday, Khamenei’s remains will be taken to the holy city of Qom before travelling to the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq. The body will then return to Iran for a final procession in Mashhad, where he will be buried near the shrine of one of Shiite Islam’s revered Imams.

The ceremonies come after months of conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States that claimed thousands of lives, devastated military and civilian infrastructure, and ended with a fragile ceasefire brokered last month. Iranian authorities say the agreement has paved the way for sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets, while maintaining that the country emerged from the conflict on its own terms.