Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei offered two options for his father’s funeral. Which will he choose

News Topical, Digital Desk : Multiple reports have indicated that Mojtaba Khamenei was seriously wounded in the US and Israel attacks. He has only released statements and has not been seen in public since the attacks on February 28. Next month there will be a funeral for Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US and Israeli attacks last February. A grand ceremony will be held for this funeral in Iran and invitations have been sent to many world leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. A big question is whether Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, will attend the event, which kicks off on July 4. If Mojtaba turned up at the event, it would be his first public appearance since reports of him being wounded in the war.

Mojtaba was notably appointed the country’s new Supreme Leader after the death of his father in February. Since then he has been leading the Iranian government. But for the last four months he has not been seen in public even once. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was seriously wounded in the February 28th attack that killed Ali Khamenei, 56 reports say. Reports said one of his legs was so badly injured that it had to be amputated. There was also mention of facial disfigurement and plastic surgery. Some reports even claimed that he was dead.


Now, the public’s confidence has also faltered?

The Iranian supreme leader has made the occasional statement. However, everything Mojtaba has said since coming to power has been read by state TV news anchors. His written statement was also read out during National Judiciary Week recently, where he directed the court to take strict action against US and Israeli officials for claiming responsibility for Khamenei's assassination. Iranian officials say Mojtaba is mentally sound and is making all the decisions. But such excuses are completely unacceptable to the public. In cities like Karaj in Iran, people have even put up posters on the streets declaring the new Supreme Leader “missing.”

Are you going to your father's funeral?

The history of Iran shows that these large state funerals are not just a space for mourning, but an opportunity for the new leadership to demonstrate its strength and unity. The late Ali Khamenei himself took an active part in the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. So Mojtaba Khamenei has two options to choose from, and either choice will have major consequences.

Now if Mojtaba appears in front of the public during the funeral July 4th to 9th the rumors about his health will end. This will boost the morale of his loyalists and the Assembly of Experts, and will signal to the US and Israel that Iran’s new leadership is fully operational. But if Mojtaba stays in the shadows, even on this historic and emotional occasion, it will signal to both inside and outside Iran that the new Supreme Leader is either physically incapable or that the regime is so paranoid about security that it cannot risk exposing its Supreme Leader to the open air. This could further fuel instability inside Iran.

PM Modi also phoned

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been invited to attend the funeral of Ali Khamenei by Iran. The invitation came from Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, sources say. But the government has not yet confirmed the invitation. Reports have said that the funeral rites for Ali Khamenei will start on July 4th and end with his burial in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on July 9th, which was also his hometown.