• Khamenei’s sons Mostafa, Meysam, Masoud gather alongside mourners at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla
• Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei yet to appear in public; IRGC, Quds Force chiefs make rare appearance
• Iran’s military says ceasefire being used to boost ‘combat readiness’
• Warns any ‘enemy mistake’ to be met with ‘decisive response’
TEHRAN: Three sons of slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, as tens of thousands of mourners, including soldiers, seminary students and ordinary men and women filed into the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, a sprawling religious complex, to pay their respects.
State TV showed Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei praying behind the coffins laid out in the vast courtyard of the complex.
Their father, alongside several other members of the family, was assasinated in an airstrike when the United States and Israel launched a war on Iran on Feb 28.
The conflict, which raged for several weeks before the sides reached a shaky ceasefire, has caused death and destruction across the region.
In a show of public devotion to the state and revolutionary zeal, Iran is staging a week of mass funeral processions for Khamenei, including taking his remains to 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.
The farewell ceremony was extended by about an hour to 10pm due to the high number of people taking part, state media reported.
No sightings of Mojtaba
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 Feb 28, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war. So far, Mojtaba Khamenei has only communicated through written statements.
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 Khamenei) 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.
The new commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, Ahmad Vahidi, whose predecessor was killed in the Feb 28 strikes, appeared at the funerals for a second time on Sunday, this time in the open air, after he went unseen throughout the war.
Esmail Qaani, the head of the Guards’ Quds Force — responsible for its foreign operations — also made a rare appearance, telling Iranian TV that Khamenei’s “blessed end” was fitting after a lifetime of “striving”.
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.
During the war, more than 3,000 people were killed, including many of Iran’s most senior politicians and military commanders.
In response, Iran successfully struck US bases in the region, inflicted pain on the Gulf Arab countries that host them and asserted its control of the Strait of Hormuz, causing a spike in global energy prices, which US President Donald Trump said led him to push faster for peace.
The interim deal reached last month includes the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets held abroad, and waivers from financial sanctions.
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 Bagher Ghalibaf prayed behind the coffins. Masoud Khamenei was seen crying and wiping his tears with a keffiyeh as an imam recited funeral prayers.
Iranians flock to central Tehran
Crowds of Iranians, many weeping, 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, Khamenei’s remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom for ceremonies on Tuesday.From there the body will be flown to Iraq for ceremonies in Najaf and Kerbala on Wednesday. It will return to Iran on Thursday for another procession in Mashhad.
Iran appreciates Pakistan gesture
Meanwhile, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam in a post on X extended “deepest appreciation” to the government and people of Pakistan for participating in the funeral ceremony of the assassinated supreme leader and expressing solidarity with the government and people of Iran.
He said the two countries “have consistently shared one another’s joys and sorrows, standing shoulder to shoulder in a spirit of solidarity, brotherhood, and mutual support”. He prayed for lasting peace, prosperity, and dignity for both nations and strong bonds between them for generations to come.
‘Decisive response’
Meanwhile, Iran’s Brigadier-General Mohammad Akraminia said the army was using the ceasefire period to strengthen its combat capabilities, warning any “enemy mistake” would be met with a “decisive response,” Al Jazeera reported.
“We will not waste a single moment or neglect this,” he said. “If the enemies make a mistake, they will definitely face a crushing and decisive response from the Iranian armed forces,” he said.
Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2026