Khamenei funeral ends as Mojtaba remains unseen, Middle East tensions flare

Supporters of former Iranian Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei call for revenge as his funeral concludes Thursday. [AFP]

The funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, which began July 4, concluded Thursday with his burial at the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Iranian authorities held a burial ceremony at the Imam Reza shrine that day, laying Khamenei to rest, according to AFP and other international media.

Khamenei died in February in a US-Israeli airstrike. His funeral began July 4 in the Iranian capital Tehran and in the holy city of Qom, with top leadership — including Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian — as well as delegations from more than 100 countries in attendance. His coffin traveled through major Iranian cities and Shiite holy sites in Iraq, including Najaf and Karbala, before being interred in his hometown of Mashhad.

Vast crowds lined the funeral procession. Iranian authorities said more than 40 million mourners participated in the six-day procession, which passed through five cities in Iran and Iraq. However, Western outlets including Reuters and The New York Times reported that the crowds numbered in the millions but fell short of 10 million.

The "black wave" of supporters clad in dark clothing who followed the procession bolstered hardliners within Iran, and the country used the occasion to sharpen its anti-American and anti-Israeli stance. Iranian leadership deliberately timed the start of the funeral to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence, using Khamenei's death as a rallying point to stoke nationalist sentiment. Flags and placards pledging revenge filled the procession, and hardline politicians have made extreme statements calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump as an act of vengeance against the United States. On Monday, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister leading negotiations with Washington, was struck by stones thrown by conservative and hardline protesters during the funeral procession.

Mourners follow the coffin of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei through the Shiite holy city of Najaf in Iraq on Wednesday. [AP]

While hardliners and conservatives used Khamenei's funeral as an opportunity to consolidate their ranks, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — the late leader's son and designated successor — was absent throughout the entire proceedings. He was with his father when airstrikes hit on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, and was reported to have been wounded in the attack. He has not been seen publicly since, fueling speculation ranging from serious injury to death. His occasional statements have been read aloud by state television announcers, raising further questions about whether he has suffered a grave disability.

The stated reason for Mojtaba's absence from public view is fear of assassination — that he cannot attend open events because he is a target of the United States and Israel. However, analysts say his failure to appear even at a major state occasion and his own father's funeral could deepen doubts within Iran about the legitimacy of the succession.

Meanwhile, Iran escalated regional tensions during the funeral period by repeatedly attacking vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz via the Omani shipping lane rather than the Iranian side. The United States has been striking Iranian military facilities for three consecutive days beginning Tuesday in response, as a warning to Tehran. Iran has retaliated by attacking US military bases in the Middle East, pushing tensions in the region higher once again.

kate01@heraldcorp.com