Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Three Sons Appear At Funeral; Mojtaba Remains Absent

Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered prayers beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, while his successor as Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remained absent from the public ceremony.

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

In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is holding a week-long series 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 pay their respects, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed outdoors under glass on Saturday, alongside those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.

Mojtaba Khamenei Still Out of Public View

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

People close to Mojtaba Khamenei's inner circle told Reuters that he suffered facial disfigurement and a significant injury to one or both legs.

Week-long Funeral Processions Continue

Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, have thronged the Mosalla, including overnight. The Iranian metro railway network said it recorded seven million trips from late on Saturday to Sunday morning as people flocked to central Tehran.

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

 From there the body will be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in the Shi'ite holy shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday. It will ⁠return to Iran on Thursday for another procession in Mashhad, to be buried near the tomb of another of the medieval Shi'ite imams.