Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei absent from mass funeral for father
Mass state funeral ceremonies are underway in Iran for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly injured, has not been seen in public.
On Sunday, three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud Khamenei—prayed beside his coffin at the vast Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla complex in Tehran. However, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran's supreme leader, did not appear.
State TV showed the sons praying behind the coffins laid out in the courtyard. Their father, along with several other family members, was killed in an airstrike when the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28. The conflict, which lasted several weeks before a shaky ceasefire, caused death and destruction across the region and left Iran's theocratic government in power.
Iran is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shiite religious sites in neighboring Iraq. On Sunday, tens of thousands of mourners, including soldiers, seminary students, and ordinary citizens, filed into the Mosalla to pay respects.
There has been no public sighting or image of Mojtaba Khamenei, who is said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father. People close to his inner circle told Reuters that his face was disfigured and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs.
During the war, more than 3,000 people were killed, including many senior politicians and military commanders. The ceasefire reached with Washington includes unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets and sanctions relief. Authorities plan to mobilize millions for processions in the coming days in Qom, Iraq, and Mashhad.
