TEHRAN, IRAN – JULY 5: Mourners gather under a spray gun to beat the heat on the second day of the funeral for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei at Grand Mosala in Tehran, Iran, on July 5, 2026. (Photo by Majid Saidi/Getty Images)
Majid Saidi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and four other family members on Sunday, but his son Mojtaba, who succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not appear.
State television showed Mostafa, Maysam and Massoud Khamenei praying behind a coffin in the courtyard of Imam Khomeini Grand Mosala, a vast religious complex in Tehran.
Their father was killed along with several other family members in an airstrike as the United States and Israel began their war against Iran on February 28.
The conflict lasted several weeks until both sides reached an uneasy ceasefire, but it caused death and destruction across the region and brought Iran’s theocratic government, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, to power.
To demonstrate its people’s dedication to the nation and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is conducting a week-long mass funeral procession, including transferring Khamenei’s remains to Shiite religious sites in neighboring Iraq.
Khamenei’s coffin was displayed outside under glass on Saturday, along with the coffins of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter, after being kept indoors for a day due to visiting Iranian and foreign officials.
No sightings of Mojtaba
No sightings or images have yet been released of Mojtaba, who is said to have been injured in the Feb. 28 attack in which Israel and the United States bombed targets in Iran at the start of the war, killing his father and other family members.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured and he suffered serious injuries to one or both legs, people close to his inner circle told Reuters.
One disappointed mourner said he had hoped to meet the new supreme leader at the funeral.
“Until the last moment when the prayers began, I kept telling everyone that I wanted him (Mojtaba Khamenei) to come. That was our only wish,” the young woman, wearing makeup and sunglasses, said in an interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Iranian authorities have suspended their four-month war with a cease-fire in an agreement with Washington that will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they describe as a victory over the superpower.
US President Donald Trump told news website Axios that peace talks had been suspended for a week due to events surrounding the funeral.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf prayed behind the coffin. Massoud Khamenei was seen weeping and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh, a checkered scarf that symbolizes Iran’s militant revolutionary ideals and solidarity with the Palestinian people, as the imam recited funeral prayers.
Iranians gather in central Tehran
Crowds of Iranians poured into Mosala throughout the night, many crying and some beating their chests. Iran’s metro rail system said it recorded 7 million rides between late Saturday night and Sunday morning as people flocked to the center.
After authorities said a large procession took place in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom, the heart of Iran’s Shiite hierarchy, for a ceremony on Tuesday.
From there, his body will be flown to Iraq, where ceremonies will be held in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday. The body will return to Iran on Thursday to take part in another procession in Mashhad and be buried near the tomb of another medieval Shiite imam.
Over the next few days, authorities plan to mobilize millions of people in massive processions, providing transportation, food and accommodation.
