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Mojtaba Jamenei, appointed the third Supreme Leader of Iran following his father's death, was notably absent this Sunday from the large funeral ceremonies held in Tehran, where his three brothers and thousands of mourners from across the country were present.
The ceremony took place at the Grand Mosque of Imam Khomeini in Tehran, where the three sons of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei present at the funeral —Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud— prayed alongside the coffins of their father and four other family members who died in the same attack on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched a joint offensive that resulted in the death of the supreme leader, his daughter, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law, and his 14-month-old granddaughter.
Mojtaba has not appeared in public since that day. According to sources close to his inner circle quoted by Reuters, the new supreme leader was severely injured in the attack: his face was disfigured and he sustained serious injuries to one or both legs. In addition, Israel has publicly declared him a military target, which exacerbates security concerns surrounding any public appearance.
The anticipation among attendees was high. A young woman in mourning interviewed by the semi-official agency Tasnim expressed her disappointment: "Until the very last moment, just before the prayer began, I kept telling those around me that I hoped he would come himself. That was our only wish."
Mojtaba was appointed as the new supreme leader of Iran by the Assembly of Experts on March 8 and 9, 2026, with 88 clerics voting for his appointment. Since then, he has only issued written statements without making any public appearances.
At the funeral, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf were indeed present. State television showed Masoud Jamenei crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh while an imam recited prayers.
The popular turnout was massive: the Tehran metro network recorded 7 million trips from Saturday night to Sunday morning, with crowds waving flags bearing slogans of revenge against the United States and Israel.
The Cuban regime sent the Minister of Higher Education Walter Baluja García as the head of the official delegation to the funeral, in a gesture of solidarity with Tehran that reaffirms the historical alliance between both governments.
The war between Iran, the United States, and Israel, which lasted approximately 110 days, resulted in over 3,000 deaths and destroyed military and civilian infrastructures worth billions of dollars. The peace agreement reached on June 14, 2026, includes the unblocking of Iranian assets held abroad and exemptions from financial sanctions. President Donald Trump stated to Axios that peace negotiations were suspended for a week due to the events surrounding the funeral.
After the ceremony this Sunday in Tehran, Jamenei's remains will be transferred to Qom on Tuesday, then to the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq on Wednesday, and finally to Mashhad, where his burial is scheduled for July 9 next to the tomb of a medieval Shiite imam.
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