Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, was notably absent from the funeral rites for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while senior regime officials joined thousands in honoring the late cleric on Sunday.
The late ayatollah’s surviving sons—Masoud, Mostafa, and Meysam—attended the ceremony, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence has fueled ongoing speculation about his health. Rumors suggest he may have sustained injuries during recent U.S.-Israel airstrikes, though he has not appeared publicly since assuming his role in early March.
Ali Khamenei governed Iran as the supreme leader from 1989 until his passing in February.
Official mourning events commenced on Friday and will continue across Iran and Iraq this week.
Authorities project that between 12 million and 20 million people will attend the ceremonies, which they have branded as the “funeral of the century.”
The late Khamenei’s body is on display at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where funeral services led by 97-year-old Shia scholar Jafar Sobhani—renowned for his teachings at Qom’s seminaries—are underway.