Three of Khamenei’s sons attend his funeral in Mojtaba’s absence news

Today, Sunday, the funeral ceremony for the late Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, continued in the Iranian capital, Tehran, with the participation of hundreds of thousands of mourners and senior officials, while attention was drawn by the absence of his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, from the ceremony, amid assurances that security reasons were behind his absence in public, while 3 of his brothers attended.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered in the Imam Khomeini Prayer Complex since the early morning hours to participate in prayer and funeral, waving Iranian flags and chanting slogans calling for revenge against the United States and Israel.

Others participated in prayer inside the complex bearing the name of Khomeini – the first leader of the Islamic Republic – who was succeeded by Khamenei in the position in 1989.

Funeral prayers were held for Khamenei and a number of his family members who were killed in an American-Israeli raid. A large crowd of political and military officials and clerics participated in the funeral ceremony, led by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Where is Mojtaba?

Iranian state television broadcast scenes showing 3 of Ali Khamenei’s sons, Mustafa, Maytham, and Masoud, as they participated in the funeral prayer, while Mojtaba, who assumed the position of Supreme Leader following the killing of his father, was absent from the ceremony. Media reports stated that his absence was due to security considerations, in light of fears that he might be targeted.

Mujtaba has not yet appeared in public or a photo of him has been published. He was injured in the attack that killed his father and members of his family, but reports varied regarding the severity of his injury.

Funeral services continue

On Friday, Iran began an official funeral ceremony for Khamenei in Tehran, as part of a week of mourning and funerals that includes stops in a number of Iranian and Iraqi cities, before his burial in the city of Mashhad in the northeast of the country.

Yesterday, Saturday, after a number of senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials arrived to take a farewell look – on Friday – at Khamenei’s coffin lying in a spacious hall in Tehran, the coffin was placed in the open air. Under a glass cover, next to the coffins of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Tomorrow, Monday, farewell marches will be organized in the streets of the capital, Tehran, before the body is transferred to the city of Qom, where another ceremony will be held on Tuesday.

The body will then be flown to hold a ceremony in the cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq on Wednesday. Khamenei’s body will be buried on Thursday inside the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

The authorities intend to mobilize millions of mourners to participate in large mass processions in the coming days, while providing transportation, food, and accommodation to increase the number of participants.

Khamenei and a number of his family members were killed in an air strike on the first day of the American-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.