Tehran, Iran. Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, while Mojtaba Khamenei, who has succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not appear publicly. State television showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei at the funeral prayers in Tehran.
Funeral prayers in Tehran
The coffins were laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex. On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also prayed behind the coffins.
Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh as an imam recited funeral prayers. The chequered scarf is a symbol in Iran of militant revolutionary ideals and solidarity with Palestinians.
Week of mourning events
The Islamic Republic is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei in what it presents as a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal. The events include taking his remains to Shi’ite religious sites in neighbouring Iraq.
After lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.
Absence of Mojtaba Khamenei
There has been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on February 28, when Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.
People close to his inner circle told Reuters that Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured and that he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs.
War pause and public turnout
A ceasefire has suspended the four-month-old war under an agreement with Washington that Iran’s authorities say will ultimately bring major economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over a superpower.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week for the events surrounding the funeral.
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, gathered at the Mosalla, including overnight. The Iranian metro railway network said it recorded 7 million trips from late on Saturday to Sunday morning as people travelled to the centre.