Millions of people gathered in Tehran on July 4, 2026, to say goodbye to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ran Iran for more than thirty years as its supreme leader. But his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named to take his place, never showed up—at least not in any publicly confirmed way, according to DW and Al Jazeera.

The funeral was enormous. More than 100 delegations from around the world came, including 12 groups from different parliaments, PressTV reported. Over 90 countries said they would take part. Ceremonies happened in three Iranian cities—Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad—and even in Iraq. The final burial is scheduled for July 9 at a major shrine in Mashhad, according to the state news agency.

How Mojtaba Became Supreme Leader — And Why Some Objected

When Ali Khamenei died in March 2026, his son Mojtaba was quickly named as his successor around March 8, the New York Times reported. But not everyone agreed. Ali Larijani, a powerful politician who used to lead Iran's parliament, said no. He tried to convince the Assembly of Experts—a group of senior religious leaders who officially choose Iran's supreme leader—to pick someone else, the Times noted on March 18.

The decision went through anyway, and Mojtaba was confirmed as supreme leader.

The Mystery: Where Is the New Supreme Leader?

Since becoming supreme leader, Mojtaba has stayed out of sight. As of late March, he had not appeared in public, and nobody could quite tell who was actually running the government, the Times reported. By late April, four months into his job, he still had not given a speech, done an interview, or even released a recording of his voice, the paper wrote.

Now he won't attend his father's funeral—the biggest political event in Iran in years, with presidents and lawmakers arriving from dozens of countries.

An Iranian official named Eslami told Al Jazeera that Mojtaba's absence was necessary, but gave no reason why. In Iran, when leaders disappear for a while, it usually means either a serious security threat or that someone is consolidating power behind the scenes.

Why This Absence Actually Matters

In Iran's system, power is supposed to rest with one person: the supreme leader. The idea is that this person has both religious authority and political power, and the whole country follows their direction. An invisible supreme leader breaks that system.

In the short term, the huge international presence at the funeral helps Iran's government save face. It shows that other countries are paying attention and taking Iran seriously, not shutting it out.

But inside Iran, the picture is murkier. Regular Iranians, military generals, religious officials, and government workers all need to know who is actually making decisions and why. When the top leader is hidden away, nobody is quite sure. Decisions still get made, but it becomes unclear who authorized them or whether someone can challenge them.

When officials reported in April that Mojtaba was still invisible, hints emerged that military generals were stepping in and handling things. This happens in other countries too: when the person officially in charge is out of reach, powerful people below them start making their own choices. And once they get used to that power, they don't like giving it back—even if the top leader suddenly reappears and wants to take over again.

The real question for Iran's future is whether Mojtaba will eventually show up and actually lead, or whether he will become just a figurehead while generals and other officials run things behind the scenes. For now, his absence from his own father's funeral is the clearest sign that something unusual is happening at the top of Iran's government.