Though 3 sons attended Khamenei's funeral, successor Mojtaba is Missing

Three of his sons participated in the second day of the special funeral ceremony held in Tehran for the late former Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, who recently died in an Israeli airstrike. However, it is noteworthy that Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed as Iran's new Supreme Leader after his father's death, has not yet appeared publicly.

Tens of thousands of people gathered for the ceremony held at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran, and Ali Khamenei's eldest son Mostafa, as well as his other sons, the religious leaders Masoud and Meysam, were present among the people.

On February 28, four members of Ali Khamenei's family, including himself, were killed in Israeli airstrikes based on American intelligence. Officials have stated that the new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was also injured in these attacks, but the nature or severity of his injuries has not yet been clarified. To date, he has only communicated with the public through written statements, and many are closely watching whether he will appear publicly in the coming days, especially for the final burial ceremony on Thursday.

Following a five-week period of military tension with the United States and Israel, authorities have used this series of funeral ceremonies as an opportunity to demonstrate to the world the steadfastness and resilience of the Iranian regime, which has been in power since 1979. Funeral processions are scheduled to be held in Tehran on Monday, in Qom, a major religious center, on Tuesday, and in Iraq on Wednesday. Thereafter, his body is planned to be buried on Thursday in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, Khamenei's hometown.

Many high-ranking officials attended this event, including Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and chief negotiator with the United States, Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, and Ahmad Vahidi, the new commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Despite the intense heat of about 35 degrees Celsius, a special water spraying system was activated to cool the attendees, and a giant image of Khamenei was also displayed. It appears that authorities are using this occasion to rally public loyalty to the government after the massive protests in January, and the gathered citizens emphasized that severe punishment should be meted out to their leader's killers and that they do not expect revenge through negotiations.