Three sons of the assassinated Iranian leader Ali Khamenei gathered on Sunday to pray beside their father’s coffin and those of four other family members. However, Mojtaba, the son who succeeded him as Iran’s Supreme Leader, was notably absent.
State television showed Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud Khamenei praying in front of the coffins displayed in the expansive courtyard of the “Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla” religious complex in Tehran, according to reports from News.ro citing Reuters.
Their father, along with several family members, was killed in an airstrike during a conflict that erupted when the United States and Israel initiated a war against Iran on February 28.
This conflict, which affected the region for several weeks before a fragile ceasefire was established, resulted in widespread death and destruction and reinforced the theocratic government of Iran, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In a public display of loyalty to the state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is holding a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, which includes transporting his remains to Shia religious sites in neighboring Iraq.
