Still no sign of the Supreme Leader as Iran launches mortal ceremonies for Khamene

Numerous citizens gathered at the Grand Mosalla prayer complex in Tehran since the early hours of July 4th, while authorities said they expect up to 20 million participants during the six-day ceremonies.

Security measures around the complex are extremely strict. Riot police and other security forces have been deployed throughout the area, roads around Grand Mosalas closed hours before the launch of ceremonies, and according to reports, authorities created an area where vehicle flow is prohibited in a range of more than a mile from the site.

Iranian media reported that participants cheered on “taking”, while gathering for the latest honours to Khameneit, who was killed on the first day of war between the United States, Israel and Iran on 28 February.

The coffins with Khamene's troops and four members of his family, killed that very first day of war, are set for homazhes and will remain there until July 6th.

Khamene's mortar remains will then be sent to the holy city of Com, before they are exposed to Baghdad, Qerbela and Nedef, in neighboring Iraq. He will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad, northeast of Iran, 9 July.

During the more than 36 years in power, Khamene usually led the mortar's forgiveness for the highest military and religious figures to change their lives, but it is not clear who would lead forgiveness for him on July 5th.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, has not been seen in public since he was injured in the same attack his father and wife were killed.

The Customs Logic Versus Security Doubts

One of the questions most attentive to the Khamene state funeral is whether his son, Mojtaba, will make a public presentation.

Analysts are divided both for the likelihood that this will happen and for the meaning of such a presentation. They waver between ritual logic, which suggests that it should be present, and security concerns that make the situation uncertain.

In an interview for Radio Farda of Free Europe Radio, human rights activist Taghi Rahman said the issue relates to a fundamental requirement of the ritualisation of power.

The next “leader should be forgiven on the body of the previous leader and thus gain formal legitimacy”, Rahman said. “This is one of the main reasons why the question of Mojtaba Khamene's presence is being carried out. ”

Directly questioned whether he expects the new supreme leader to participate in the ceremony, Rahman said the odds are in favour of that, but stressed that wartime security considerations could dominate the regime's desire to organise a grand funeral with the presence of Mojataba Khamenei.

“They wanted to organise a funeral with a great and grand crowd; such a funeral is very important for the” regime, Rahman said, adding that the Islamic Republic needs to reaffirm its authority after the war.

United Kingdom-based political analyst Babac Dorbeiki expressed much more skeptical whether this question can be answered now.

“does not know”, he told Radio Farda. I'm not even sure if such a person is still alive, or at least if he is in good health. ”

However, Dorbeiki said he would not be surprised if the Supreme Leader finally appeared.

If he exists, it does not seem impossible or strange to attend. ”

However, he warned that his presence or absence should not be interpreted as a signal to the ruling heritage process, arguing that security concerns -- rather than political calculations -- will determine what will happen.

“It is not possible to give any subtle political meaning to the presence or absence of Mojtaba Khameneit”, he said, “because the security dimension in this story seems much more dominant now than political. ”/Periscope