Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed supreme leader of Iran by a clerical council a week after his father’s death, did not appear at any of the six days of funeral rites that concluded with Ali Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad early on Friday. Iranian security sources told Reuters that the younger Khamenei is recovering from serious injuries sustained in the 28 February strike by the United States and Israel that killed his father, mother and wife, and that his public appearances are being restricted by security agencies wary of further American attacks. The absence has left the new leader’s whereabouts and physical condition a matter of intense speculation inside Iran and among foreign governments.

Viewed from Tehran, official statements have sought to project continuity. Iranian officials have claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei personally managed ceasefire negotiations with Washington and that his injuries are not severe. US intelligence assessments, however, indicated in May that he was playing a pivotal role in war strategy alongside senior officials, while President Donald Trump acknowledged he was alive but “badly injured.” Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz declared the new supreme leader a “target for killing,” a threat that, according to Tehran-based analysts, reinforces the security logic behind his concealment. A video of a distant, unidentified cleric observing the funeral from a balcony in Tehran circulated widely on social media, but an Iranian cleric later identified himself as the figure, and state-linked media dismissed the footage as disinformation.

The funeral itself was a display of mass mobilisation. Iranian news agency Fars reported that between 41 and 43 million people participated in ceremonies across Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad, a figure that, if accurate, would make it one of the largest gatherings of its kind. The body of Ali Khamenei was flown to Iraq for religious observances before being interred beside the shrine of Imam Reza in his hometown. Yet the absence of his designated successor from these meticulously choreographed events has fuelled opposition narratives that the new leader is incapacitated and that the appointment was designed to vest real decision-making authority in a collective leadership or a figurehead.

Written statements continue to be issued in Mojtaba Khamenei’s name, but no verified photograph, video or audio recording of him has surfaced since the war began. Iranian officials maintain that he is convalescing and will resume public duties once his health permits. The dossier remains opaque: no timeline for a public appearance has been announced, and the next concrete step—whether a direct address, a meeting with foreign dignitaries or a formal investiture ceremony—has not been signalled by the authorities in Tehran.