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Millions of mourners have arrived at the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as representatives of a dozen countries – presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, parliament speakers and others.
However, as the multi-day event passes through Iran – the group will pass through Iraq – residents of Tehran spoke to Al Jazeera about one person whose absence has been more striking than the presence of anyone who has come: the country’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
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Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the February 28 Israeli airstrike that injured and killed his father, Ali Khamenei, as well as Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, and other family members. He has been absent from the entire funeral ceremony of his wife and father.
Iranian officials have attributed this absence to the continuing threat of assassination. However, the presence of many families, including the sons of Ali Khamenei, Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud, during the week of mourning for their father, as well as the presence of many Iranian political leaders and foreign ministers, has highlighted Khamenei’s absence and added to rumors about the number of injuries he suffered in the attack that killed his father.
“My country is no longer the old Iran, where the leader lives,” said 26-year-old Masoumeh from Tehran, where he was attending the funeral. “The absence of Mojtaba is not important, but his presence is a sign of the security of this country, and now I feel that the old security is not working in my country. The late great leader was the meaning of the power of Iran.”
Threats
On Monday, as Khamenei’s funeral procession passed through Tehran, Israel’s defense minister appeared to threaten his successor. Minister, Israel Katz, said in a The Hebrew language he said that Khamenei “was killed by Israel because he initiated the plan to destroy Israel”.
“The killer was killed,” Katz said. “Any Iranian leader who tries to destroy Israel again will fail.”
Katz last week threatened, directly, that Khamenei was on Israel’s wanted list, which drew criticism from Iran.
Most of Iran’s leadership was prepared to be killed by Israel since it launched a terrorist attack on Iran on February 28, starting the US-Israeli war on Iran whose uncertain outcome is still the subject of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
In addition to Ali Khamenei, the Israeli strike killed or disabled many officials, including Iran’s defense minister at the time, the army chief, and senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as officials of intelligence, military planning, and nuclear-related organizations.
“I feel that because of (Mojtaba Khamenei’s) security, he should not be in public and we should wait a little bit,” Faezeh, 35, said at the funeral. “The fact that the new leader did not appear means nothing to me because I know that the enemy did not show mercy to the old leader and they will not show mercy to Mr. Mojtaba.”
Faezeh continued, indicating that he feels that the absence of the prime minister does not seem to have affected the performance of the government. However, he added: “I think people have good reasons to say that there is no point in seeing him right now.” It’s like believing in a mystical story or an invisible Shia imam or even the existence of God: something you don’t see, but believe in.
Faezeh explained that he had never seen the previous leader, either, but he found confirmation by following him on social media, where he appeared in times of crisis or emergency. “In the past, seeing a former leader in public meant that there was security,” he said. “But unfortunately, with the killing of the leader, we realized that at any time we will not have the security that we have now.”
Just an estimate
Rumors about Mojtaba Khamenei’s health have swirled since the attack that killed his father, wife and family members, fueled by the leader’s lack of public appearances or photographs taken since the attack in late February.
According to people close to his inner circle who spoke to Reuters, Khamenei suffered serious injuries, including damage to his face and severe injuries to one or both legs, which, combined with his absence from the funerals of his wife and father, led some to question Iran’s show of strength.
The Islamic Republic, despite its claims, “cannot even maintain the security of its leader for a few minutes to attend this important ceremony”, 47-year-old Somayeh told Al Jazeera from Tehran, adding, “It seems that there is a conspiracy at work and that the government is still unjust and open to the public.”
Others in the government, saw that he is benefiting from the confusion caused by the absence of a great leader and “he forces the people to make their own decisions by representing them and he controls the events and just mentions him wherever he wants to achieve their goals”.
Traditionally, an Iranian leader is not expected to remain in public all the time. Instead, the authority is exercised through a group of representatives of many organizations, televised addresses and written instructions, which appear mainly during major religious or national events.
“Like any leader – I’m politically waiting to see a leader,” Iranian-American political analyst Negar Mortazavi said. “Not every day, (but) the last two leaders were seen and seen as unifiers in the government.”
This makes Mojtaba’s absence from the public “really strange”. But, he added, this was what was established “not by design” and that “there is also a reason for it”, because of the threat to Khamenei’s life.
At the same time, Mortazavi added that although this understanding is shared by many Iranians, it cannot last forever. He said: “They can’t hide him forever.”
