Khamenei Funeral: Questions Over Location Of Supreme Leader's Successor

Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make a public appearance as of Monday, days into funeral ceremonies that started for his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike on February 28.

On Monday, mourners carried signs which called for the killing of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as people reached out to touch the truck carrying the coffin of the late Supreme Leader.

The previous day, tens of thousands of people attended a funeral, footage from Iranian state media showing three of his sons-Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud crying as the coffins of their father and other family members were carried out into Tehran's Grand Mosalla.

However notable for his absence was his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed after his father's death.

His image has appeared on posters across the Iranian capital, but he has not been seen or heard publicly in person since he took over, not even attending the funeral on July 1 of his wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, who was also killed in the strikes.

Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to have been injured in those strikes and in hiding after being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father, although no state media reports have confirmed this.

What Has Been Said About Mojtaba Khamenei?

The timing of the funeral ceremonies is significant, overlapping with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence as well as during the Islamic month of Muharram, associated in Shiite Islam with mourning, betrayal, and martyrdom.

The events over several days stretching across five cities in both Iran and Iraq are also being used as a propaganda tool and a rallying call for the ruling regime, making the absence so far of the Supreme Leader a conspicuous one.

Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, head of Iran’s national funeral and farewell committee for the leader of the Islamic Revolution, said the Supreme Leader's attendance was outside the authority of the organizing committee.

This cartoon by Behnam Mohammadi for the independent publication Kayhan Life, which focuses on Iran, is titled Khamenei's Heirs Fight Over Power and Plunder. (Provided to Newsweek by Kayhan Life).

Iran has dismissed claims that Mojtaba has suffered serious injuries, with one aide saying that security concerns formed the main reason for his absence, and officials having earlier expressed concern about the risk of assassination.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in March that Mojtaba had been “wounded and likely disfigured” by the attack. A Reuters report in April said he was recovering from severe facial and leg injuries and may have even lost a leg in the strikes, although these claims have not been independently confirmed.

While he has not been seen in public for more than four months, written statements attributed to him have been issued, including that he had authorized the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the U.S. to end the Iran war.

He said he authorized the MOU after receiving assurances from President Masoud ⁠Pezeshkian and other senior officials that Iran’s interests and those of the “Resistance Front” of regional allies, would be safeguarded.

The funeral ceremonies, which started on Saturday, will culminate in Khamenei's burial on July 9 in the city of Mashhad, his birthplace, with a procession expected to pass through Iraq a day earlier, including the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 9:05 AM.