Iran Mourns Death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Successor Absent from Funeral

TEHRAN: Iranian leaders joined prayers Sunday over the casket of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei during a second day of funeral ceremonies , but his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei was conspicuously absent. The elder Khamenei ruled the Islamic republic from 1989 until he was killed aged 86 in an airstrike on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28. Officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi joined Sunday's ceremonies, along with huge crowds paying their final respects in Tehran. But Mojtaba has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March. He is said to have been wounded in the attack that killed his father. The late supreme leader's other three sons, Masoud, Mostafa and Meysam, all attended the service. It was held at Tehran's Grand Mosalla religious complex and led by prominent Shia cleric Ja'far Sobhani, a 97-year-old scholar who teaches at seminaries in the holy city of Qom. Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran. Later in the day, Khamenei's body will be moved out of the Grand Mosalla, where it is lying in state, as part of preparations for processions through the capital on Monday. The vast complex and surrounding streets were packed with mourners on Sunday morning. With temperatures forecast to exceed 35C, many were handed refreshments as they made their way to the Grand Mosalla, some carrying Iranian flags or portraits of the late Khamenei.