The son who never appears: Iran buries a Supreme Leader — and inherits a ghost
A giant billboard showing late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: "Thank you Iran" (Image/AP) Driving
A giant billboard showing late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, with Arabic writing that reads: "Thank you Iran" (Image/AP) Driving the news State of play Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, when US and Israeli strikes hit his residential compound in Tehran. Several family members died with him. On March 9, the Assembly of Experts elevated Mojtaba to supreme leader. The vote, per the New York Times, landed at 59 of 88 — just past the two-thirds bar. Ali Khamenei's own will reportedly asked for an in-person vote and opposed handing the job to his son. The Assembly did it anyway. Since then: No speech, no audience, no confirmed footage. Just one written statement, read out on state TV three days after the vote.
Analysts noted even that carried typos and clerical formatting errors a seminary-trained cleric wouldn't ordinarily make. By the numbers 6 days: The length of the procession: Tehran to Qom, across the border to Najaf and Karbala, then back to Mashhad for burial. The length of the procession: Tehran to Qom, across the border to Najaf and Karbala, then back to Mashhad for burial. 15–20 million: mourners Iranian officials say they expect along the route mourners Iranian officials say they expect along the route Over 100 countries, including, are sending delegations to attend the funeral. Why it matters. 'Fake tears' Between the lines The bigger picture. What's next What to watch Iran is holding the largest funeral in its history for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Over six days, the mourning procession moves from Tehran through Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad — a route that traces a political and spiritual map, meant to steady a system rattled by months of war, unrest and uncertainty at the very top.But his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, hasn't been seen in public since Operation 'Epic Fury' that killed his father began.On paper, Mojtaba Khamenei is the most powerful man in Iran. In practice, he is a name on a title with no face attached and that gap is now the biggest open question in Iranian politics.His absence has become the funeral's central tension. Iran is staging one of the largest public ceremonies in its history to honor a slain leader, while the man who inherited his authority hasn't been seen since the strikes of February 28.This is more than a burial.
It's a test of whether the Islamic Republic can still project strength after a year of war, unrest and elite casualties — and it's having to do so without its new supreme leader in the frame.Officials are leaning on the turnout to argue the state remains intact, popular and able to fill the street. Tehran hopes the sheer scale of the crowds will shore up its claims to legitimacy at home and give Washington pause about further military action, according to an FT report.The Supreme Security Council cast the funeral as a message to Iran's enemies, writing on
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