Iran's supreme leader absent as senior officials attend ayatollah's funeral - BBC News

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the attack which killed his father at the onset of the US-Israel war with Iran.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Leaders including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were in attendance for the former supreme leader's funeral, but Mojtaba Khamenei was absent

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was conspicuously absent from his father's funeral, as senior regime figures joined thousands paying their respects to the late ayatollah on Sunday.

Ali Khamenei's other three sons - Masoud, Mostafa and Meysam - all attended the service on Sunday, alongside officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi.

Speculation about Mojtaba's condition - fuelled by rumours he was wounded in the same US-Israel air strikes that killed his father - has continued as he has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March.

The elder Khamenei ruled the Islamic republic from 1989 until his death in February.