Senior Iranian officials have traveled to attend the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not yet appeared, reportedly due to concerns over security.
Foreign news agencies reported that the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei entered its third day on Sunday, 5 July 2026, with senior Iranian government officials, foreign representatives, and many citizens attending to pay respects. However, current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not attended his father's funeral.
Ali Khamenei’s three other sons—Masoud, Mostafa, and Meysam—attended the Sunday funeral along with senior officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The absence of Mojtaba has fueled rumors that he was injured in a US and Israeli airstrike that caused his father's death, as he has not appeared publicly since being appointed Iran’s new Supreme Leader in early March.
However, it is possible Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence is due to fears that Israel may still seek to assassinate him as they did his father.
Currently, the fragile ceasefire agreement between the warring countries—the US and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other—remains in effect, while peace talks toward a permanent agreement continue. Both sides have warned they and their militaries are ready to resume military operations at any time.
The official funeral for the former Supreme Leader began on Friday (3 July) and will continue until 9 July, with planned events across Iran and Iraq throughout the week. Iranian authorities expect 12 to 20 million participants and have dubbed it the “Funeral of the Century.”
Currently, Khamenei’s body lies at the Grand Mosalla, the largest mosque in Tehran, where 97-year-old prominent Shia scholar Jafar Sobhanani, who teaches at the religious college in the holy city of Qom, leads the prayer ceremonies.
Iranian authorities declared Sunday, 5 July, a national public holiday. In the evening, Khamenei’s body will be moved from the Grand Mosalla ahead of a procession through the capital city on Monday.
US news website Axios reported that President Donald Trump said on Saturday the peace talks were suspended for one week during Ali Khamenei’s funeral.
The president also expressed surprise at seeing Iranians cry, saying he thought people hated Khamenei and added, “Maybe those tears are fake.”
However, Sahra Safaei, 50, one of the mourners, told Reuters in response, “We did not carry out the revolution 47 years ago to shed fake tears, nor did we sacrifice martyrs to shed fake tears.”
Meanwhile, AP and The Guardian reported that many Iranians cursed Trump to death. Iranian poet Mohammad Rasouli recited before worshippers, saying, “Killing Trump is our responsibility.” He also shouted slogans like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
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Source:bbc