Millions of mourners have attended the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as have representatives of several dozen countries — presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, parliament speakers and more.Yet as the multiday event weaves its way through Iran — the procession will then pass into Iraq — residents across Tehran have spoken to Al Jazeera about one person whose absence has, to many, been more striking than the presence of everyone who has turned up: the country’s current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listMojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the Israeli air strike on February 28 that wounded him and killed his father, Ali Khamenei, as well as Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, and other family members. He has remained absent throughout the funeral ceremonies for his wife and father.Iranian officials have attributed that absence to the continued threat of assassination. However, the attendance of many family members, including Ali Khamenei’s sons Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud, during the week of public mourning being held for their father, as well as the presence of many of Iran’s political leadership and foreign dignitaries, has highlighted the ruling Khamenei’s absence and stoked rumours over the extent of the injuries he sustained in the attack that killed his father.“My country is no longer the Iran of old, where the leader is …
