Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but Mojtaba Khamenei, the son who has succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not make an appearance.
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.
After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei’s coffin was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.
There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, said to have been injured in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on February 28, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, people close to his inner circle told Reuters.
A ceasefire has suspended the four-month-old war under an agreement with Washington that Iran’s authorities say will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over a superpower.
US President Donald Trump told the Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week for the events surrounding the funeral.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf prayed behind the coffins.
Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh – the chequered scarf that is a symbol in Iran of revolutionary ideals and solidarity with Palestinians – as an imam recited funeral prayers.
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, have thronged the Mosalla, including overnight.
The Iranian metro railway network said it had clocked 7 million trips from late on Saturday to Sunday morning as people flocked to the centre.
