Three sons of Iran's slain leader Khamenei appear at funeral, not his successor

TEHRAN – Three sons of the slain Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on July 5, but Mojtaba Khamenei, the son who has succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not make an appearance.

State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla of Tehran, a sprawling religious complex.

In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic republic is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shi’ite religious sites in neighbouring Iraq.

After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed outdoors on July 4 under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.

There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, who is said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on Feb 28, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.

Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

A ceasefire has suspended the four-month-old war under an agreement with Washington that Iran’s authorities say will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over a superpower.

US President Donald Trump told the Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week because of the events surrounding the funeral.

On July 5, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf prayed behind the coffins.

Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping away his tears with a keffiyeh – the chequered scarf that is a symbol in Iran of militant revolutionary ideals and solidarity with Palestinians – as an imam recited funeral prayers.

Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, have thronged the Mosalla, including overnight.

The Iranian metro railway network said it clocked seven million trips from late on July 4 to the morning of July 5 as people flocked to the centre.

After what the authorities are billing as a massive procession in central Tehran on July 6, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom, the centre of Iran’s Shi’ite hierarchy, for ceremonies on July 7.

From there, the body will be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in the Shi’ite holy ⁠shrine cities of ​Najaf and Kerbala on July 8.

It will return to Iran on July 9 for another ​procession in Mashhad, to be buried near the tomb of another of the mediaeval Shi’ite imams.

The authorities plan to mobilise millions of people for the big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging. REUTERS