Will Mojtaba Khamenei Make His First Public Appearance? Iran Plans Memorial for Ali Khamenei

Tehran: Iranian politics and the geopolitics of the Middle East are once again capturing global attention. Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Supreme Leader, may now appear in public for the first time. Iran is set to organise a memorial ceremony for slain Supreme Leader next week, days after he laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad.

When will the memortial happen?

According to reports, the memorial ceremony will be held on July 23 between 5 pm and 7 pm in the capital city of Tehran. The notice referred to the late leader as the ‘martyred mujahid Imam.’

However there is no official clarification on whether Mojtaba will attend the ceremony or not, but there are speculations that the current supreme leader will likely make a public appearance on that day.

If this happens, it will be his first public appearance since becoming Supreme Leader. However, Iranian officials have yet to officially confirm that Mojtaba Khamenei will appear.

What about prayer meeting?

A special prayer service has been held in the Iranian religious city of Qom. Earlier, media reports had predicted that Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, might appear in public for the first time on Saturday. It was expected that he would lead the memorial service for his father at the Hazrat Masoumeh shrine. 

What about the funneral?

The Supreme Leader was laid to rest in Mashhad, about 131 days after his death. This is the first instance in modern history where a leader's body has been buried after such a long time.

Mojtaba was made Iran's Supreme Leader after Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint strike by the United States (US) and Israel on February 28.