Absence of Mojtaba Khamenei at Father's Funeral
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was notably absent from the funeral of his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as senior regime officials and thousands of mourners gathered on Sunday to pay their respects.
While Mojtaba Khamenei did not attend, Ali Khamenei's other three sons—Masoud, Mostafa, and Meysam—were present at the service. Among the senior officials attending were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi.
Speculation regarding Mojtaba Khamenei's condition has persisted, fueled by rumors that he was injured in the same US-Israel air strikes that resulted in the death of his father. Mojtaba has not appeared publicly since his appointment in early March.
Ali Khamenei led the Islamic Republic from 1989 until his death in February 2024.
Funeral Proceedings and Expected Attendance
The official funeral proceedings for the late supreme leader began on Friday, with a series of events scheduled across Iran and Iraq throughout the week.
Iranian authorities have estimated that between 12 and 20 million people are expected to attend the ceremonies, which have been described as the "funeral of the century." Khamenei's body is currently lying in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla religious complex.
The funeral service is being led by prominent Shia cleric Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old scholar who teaches at seminaries in the holy city of Qom.
More than 10 million people are anticipated to attend the funeral ceremonies in Tehran alone.
Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran. Later in the day, Khamenei's body will be moved from the Grand Mosalla in preparation for processions through the capital on Monday.
Security and Political Context
Aside from Mojtaba Khamenei's absence, the funeral ceremonies have been meticulously organized. His absence occurs amid threats from Israel to assassinate him.
A fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel is currently in place while negotiations for a permanent peace deal continue. Both sides have indicated readiness to resume military action if talks fail.
US President Donald Trump was quoted by news website Axios on Saturday stating that peace talks had been paused for a week due to the funeral events.
"With many of the Iranian regime's senior officials attending, Washington could take them all out with 'one shot', but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump said.
"I was surprised to see Iranians crying. I thought people hated Khamenei. Maybe it's fake tears," he added.
Responding to Trump's comments, mourner Zahra Safaei, 50, told :
"We did not make a revolution 47 years ago to shed fake tears. We did not sacrifice all these martyrs to shed fake tears."
Public Sentiment and Demonstrations
Reports from the Associated Press and indicate that on Sunday, some mourners called for the death of US President Donald Trump. Poet Mohammad Rasouli, during a poetry recitation before the funeral prayer, stated:
"Trump's murder is our responsibility."
Rasouli's statements were accompanied by chants of "death to America" and "death to Israel." Demonstrators in Tehran were seen holding banners with slogans such as "kill Trump," "kill Bibi"—referring to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—and "we will avenge."
Mourners were also heard chanting against both Trump and Netanyahu during the events on Sunday.
Logistics and Safety Measures
The funeral events in Tehran alone are expected to draw over 10 million mourners from across Iran. Strict security measures have been implemented, and official media have issued warnings about the risk of crowd crushes.
Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that more than 4,000 people had visited medical centers located in and near the Grand Mosalla complex, although no deaths have been recorded so far.
Images from the funeral show mourners being sprayed with mist to help them cope with the heat, as temperatures in Tehran are expected to reach the mid-30s Celsius. Medics were also seen carrying an elderly woman away on a stretcher.
Details of the Coffin and Funeral Route
Khamenei's coffin is displayed alongside those of four relatives who were killed in the air strikes on Tehran, including his one-year-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.
Throughout his tenure, Ali Khamenei pursued a confrontational policy toward the West and provided support to anti-US and anti-Israel armed groups in the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.
Following the processions through Tehran on Monday, Khamenei's coffin will be transported to Qom on Tuesday, then to a significant Shia site in neighboring Iraq on Wednesday, before the burial on Thursday in his northeastern hometown of Mashhad.
