Speculation mounts over rare public appearance of Mojtaba to lead condolence prayers for late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral

TEHRAN: A condolence ceremony will be held on Saturday following the passing of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who lost his life during military strikes on February 28, according to a report by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The news agency reported that the ceremony will be led by the late leader’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, triggering mounting international speculation over whether he will finally step into the public eye.

The announcement has triggered widespread international interest and intense global scrutiny regarding whether Mojtaba will finally be seen in public to lead the prayers, given that he has remained entirely out of the public domain since the outbreak of the war, with official channels withholding any accompanying photographs, video footage or audio recordings.

Mojtaba was designated as the new supreme leader by a clerical council in early March, one week after his father’s demise.

MOJTABA KHAMENEI SET FOR POSSIBLE FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE US STRIKES

Iran’s Supreme Leader will hold memorial ceremony for late father — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — at Qom’s Holy Shrine

Appearance would come after MONTHS WITHOUT A PUBLIC SIGHTING pic.twitter.com/zJ88kJJkm1

— RT (@RT_com) July 9, 2026

The political transition remains fraught with uncertainty due to his complete absence from the public domain. Senior sources in Tehran indicate that Mojtaba sustained severe trauma during the military strike that claimed his father’s life, resulting in facial disfigurement and major injuries to his limbs.

These sources noted that while he is currently undergoing recovery, his health has not progressed enough to permit public appearances. Additionally, state intelligence apparatuses are reportedly limiting his visibility due to lingering apprehensions over potential subsequent US military operations.

According to the Tasnim report, the ceremony is scheduled to take place on Saturday after the Maghrib and Isha prayers. The event will be hosted at the Imam Khomeini portico within the prominent shrine of Hazrat Masumeh in Qom.

Maghrib and Isha constitute the final two obligatory daily prayers (Salah) in Islam, performed in succession from sunset until the arrival of dawn.

This upcoming ceremony follows the formal conclusion of the late leader’s funeral rites. State media reported that the late Supreme Leader was laid to rest at the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad early on Friday, bringing an end to a week of massive funeral processions and nationwide mourning rituals that spanned Iran and Iraq.

These ceremonies unfolded amid renewed friction between Tehran and Washington following a weeks-long truce in the four-month-old conflict. While a truce was reached last month, the funeral events were actively promoted by the clerical establishment to project the strength and ideological commitment of the Islamic Republic.

The heavy atmosphere surrounding this transition was evident during the processions in Mashhad on Thursday, where dense crowds flanked the coffin.

Hostile chants were directed towards US President Donald Trump, with participants shouting, “I swear by the blood of the supreme leader, Trump, we will kill you!” while several women displayed signs demanding to “Kill Trump”. By nightfall, the central courtyard of the Shrine of Imam Reza was filled. Resounding chants of “Death to America” reverberated through the complex, interspersed with traditional elegies broadcast through public loudspeakers.

The official IRNA news agency confirmed early on Friday that authorities had completed the burial of Khamenei and four family members who were killed in the same attack. This transition occurs at a critical juncture for Iran, marking the end of nearly four decades of Khamenei’s rule and following months of nationwide demonstrations against the theocratic government.

Security agencies had suppressed those protests, driven by economic grievances tied to international sanctions, during a sweeping crackdown earlier this year.

Khamenei originally assumed the position of supreme leader in 1989, a decade after the Islamic Revolution. Throughout his tenure, he systematically centralised political, military and economic leverage within his own office, progressively marginalising the country’s elected parliament and presidency. (ANI)