Son who succeeded slain Iranian leader Khamenei absent from funeral as 3 other sons appear

Son who succeeded slain Iranian leader Khamenei absent from funeral as 3 other sons appear

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, other family killed in airstrike when U.S., Israel launched war on Iran

The son who succeeded Iran's slain leader was absent from the funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and four other family members on Sunday, while three other sons showed up and prayed beside the coffins.

State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of Tehran's Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex.

There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, the new Supreme leader.

He was severely injured in the attack that killed his father and the other family members on Feb. 28, when Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war. Mojtaba's face was disfigured and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

Crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran begins days-long funeral ceremonies

The conflict, which raged for several weeks before the sides reached a shaky ceasefire, has caused death and destruction across the region and left Iran's theocratic government, backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, in power.

In a show of public devotion to the state and revolutionary zeal, the Islamic Republic is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to Shia religious sites in neighbouring Iraq.

After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's coffin and those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter were displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass.

Israel has threatened to kill Mojtaba as he leads a theocracy now negotiating with the United States over a permanent end to the war and over Iran strangling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies.

One disappointed mourner said she had hoped to see the new supreme leader during the funeral events.

"Until the last moment, before the prayer began, I kept telling those around me that I hoped [Mojtaba] himself would come. That was our only wish," a young woman wearing makeup and sunglasses told the semi-official Tasnim news agency in an interview.

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shia cleric, led the prayers for Khamenei and his family.

Before the funeral, Masoud, Meysam and Mostafa hadn't been seen since the war.

Masoud was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh — the checkered scarf that is a symbol in Iran of militant revolutionary ideals and solidarity with Palestinians — as an imam recited funeral prayers.

Revolutionary Guard head Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who only had been photographed for the first time since the war on Thursday, could be seen in the crowd, flanked by plainclothes security forces as he wore a black baseball cap.

Their appearances came as posters and graffiti at the Grand Mosalla called for the killing of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mohammad Rasouli, a poet who emceed the event prior to the prayers, drew calls of "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!"

Speaking to the crowd over loudspeakers at the funeral, Rasouli asked, referring to Trump, "Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?"

The question drew cheers from the crowd, and again when Rasouli said "the world is no longer a good place for" Trump. It marked the first, direct threat to Trump's life by an official during the funeral.

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.

Trump told the Axios news website that peace talks had been paused for a week for the events surrounding the funeral.

Iranians flock to central Tehran

Iranians, many weeping and some beating their chests, have thronged the Mosalla, including overnight. The Iranian metro railway network said it had clocked seven 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 Shia hierarchy, for ceremonies on Tuesday.

From there, the body will be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in the Shia 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 Shia imams.

Authorities plan to mobilize millions of people for big processions over the coming days, offering transport, food and lodging.

With files from The Associated Press