Video clips and photos published today, Tuesday, showed the attendance of Mustafa and Masoud Khamenei, the two sons of former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, at the ceremony commemorating the fortieth anniversary of his death in the Imam Khomeini chapel in the capital, Tehran, while Mojtaba Khamenei, who was later chosen to succeed his father in the position of guide, continued to be absent from public appearances.
The appearance of Mustafa and Masoud gains special importance in light of Mojtaba’s notable absence from his father’s funeral and burial ceremonies, as Ali Khamenei’s other sons participated in various stages of the funeral ceremonies, while Mojtaba did not appear in any of the public ceremonies that were held.
Ali Khamenei was buried in the city of Mashhad on July 9, 2026, after a series of funeral ceremonies that began in Tehran, moved to Qom, then to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before ending in Mashhad.
During the prayer and burial ceremony, Mustafa Khamenei performed the prayer over his father’s body, while Mojtaba was absent from the ceremony.
Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, 2026 during the Israeli and American attack on Iran, and his body remained for more than 4 months before the funeral and burial ceremonies were organized. Days after his killing, Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as the new guide, but he has not appeared in public since the attack that killed his father.
The official announcement of the Arbaeen ceremony does not provide an explanation for Mojtaba’s absence, nor is there yet detailed official information explaining the reasons for his not appearing at the funeral and burial ceremonies of his father.
Media reports had linked his continued absence since the attack to security considerations, while other reports spoke of the possibility that he was injured during the attack, without any official public confirmation of these accounts.
Mustafa and Masoud appeared during the Arbaeen ceremony alongside the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf, in a scene that re-shed light on the continued absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, despite his assumption of the position of the new guide.
This comes at a sensitive transitional stage during which the Iranian leadership seeks to stabilize the position of the new leader and demonstrate the continuity of the regime’s institutions after the killing of Ali Khamenei, especially since Mojtaba had appointed and confirmed a number of leaders in the armed forces earlier this month.
