TEHRAN — Three sons of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared at major state mourning ceremonies in Tehran on Sunday, joining funeral prayers beside his coffin in a rare public display of the ruling family's presence, while his successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, remained absent from public view amid continuing security concerns.
Iranian state television broadcast images of Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind coffins placed in the courtyard of Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, where thousands of mourners gathered during the latest stage of a week-long state funeral commemorating the longtime leader, who Iranian authorities say was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28. The United States and Israel have not publicly accepted responsibility for the strike.
The appearance marked the first major public participation by the three brothers during the funeral ceremonies and came as senior Iranian political and military officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, attended the prayers alongside religious leaders.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who Iranian authorities have named as the country's new supreme leader, did not attend. Iranian officials and individuals close to the leadership have previously cited security concerns following the conflict with Israel and the United States, while multiple media reports have said he was wounded during the attack that killed his father. Iranian authorities have not provided detailed public updates on his condition.
The Islamic Republic has organized several days of funeral ceremonies and processions intended to draw large crowds across Iran before the burial in Mashhad. Officials have presented the events as a demonstration of national unity and resilience following months of conflict, while state media has shown extensive public participation in Tehran.
Video from the ceremony showed mourners carrying portraits of the late leader and chanting slogans against the United States and Israel. Senior clerics led funeral prayers as coffins bearing Khamenei and several family members lay in state at the Grand Mosalla complex.
According to the official funeral schedule, the ceremonies will continue with processions through additional cities in Iran before concluding with Khamenei's burial in his hometown of Mashhad later this week. Iranian authorities have maintained heightened security around the events and have not announced any change to the planned schedule.
