Three sons of Iran's slain leader Khamenei appear at funeral, not his successor

Highlights:
- Mojtaba Khamenei makes no public appearance at funeral prayers in
Tehran
- State TV shows Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying beside
coffins
- Iran plans funeral ceremonies in Qom, Najaf, Kerbala and Mashhad
through Thursday
Three sons of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but
Mojtaba, the son who has succeeded him as Iran's supreme leader, did not make
an appearance.
State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and
Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of
Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex.
In a show of public devotion to the theocratic state and revolutionary zeal,
the Islamic Republic is staging a week of mass funeral processions for
Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shi'ite religious sites in
neighbouring Iraq.
After a day lying in state indoors
for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's coffin
was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his
daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter.
There has still been no public
sighting or image released of Mojtaba, said to have been injured in the attack
that killed his father and the other family members on 28 February, when Israel
and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei's face was
disfigured and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, people
close to his inner circle told Reuters.
A ceasefire has suspended the
four-month-old war under an agreement with Washington that Iran's authorities
say will ultimately bring huge economic benefits, in line with what they
describe as a victory over a superpower.
US President Donald Trump told the
Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week for the events
surrounding the funeral.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud
Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf prayed behind the
coffins. Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh –
the chequered scarf that is a symbol in Iran of militant revolutionary ideals
and solidarity with Palestinians – as an imam recited funeral prayers.
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping
and some beating their chests, have thronged the Mosalla, including overnight.
The Iranian metro railway network said it had recorded 7 million trips from late
on Saturday to Sunday morning as people flocked to the centre.
After what authorities are billing
as a massive procession in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken
to the seminary city of Qom, the centre of Iran's Shi'ite hierarchy, for ceremonies
on Tuesday.
From there the body will be flown
to Iraq for ceremonies in the Shi'ite holy shrine cities of Najaf and Kerbala
on Wednesday. It will return to Iran on Thursday for another procession in
Mashhad, to be buried near the tomb of another of the medieval Shi'ite imams.
Authorities plan to mobilise
millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering
transport, food and lodging.
















