One hundred days after Ali Khamenei was killed in an attack on his Tehran office, Iran’s former supreme leader has still not been buried—while the man named to replace him has yet to appear publicly.
IRAN INTERNATIONAL -- Iranian officials have repeatedly promised a massive, multi-day funeral procession, reportedly passing through several cities before Khamenei is buried in Mashhad. However, no firm date has been announced, even though other senior officials and military commanders killed during the war have already been laid to rest.
The extraordinary delay conflicts with Shiite religious traditions favoring prompt burial and has fueled speculation about the condition of Khamenei’s remains. Iranian authorities have disclosed neither where the body is being kept nor what condition it was found in after the strike. Other officials killed in the same attack were reportedly identified only through DNA testing.
The mystery surrounding the funeral is further complicated by the disappearance of Khamenei’s designated successor, Mojtaba Khamenei. Although regime officials claim that he survived the attack with only minor injuries, he has not appeared in public since taking power.