Tehran is hosting a week-long funeral for Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28, in an effort to project an image of seamless succession and institutional strength.
Iranian officials have stated that the funeral is intended to demonstrate that the state and its institutions remain intact despite the loss of its top leader. Qom Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad Saidi described the event as "another referendum for the Islamic Republic" in comments to state media on July 3.
Most of Iran's remaining leadership, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, have been present at the funeral proceedings in Tehran, an event Iranian media anticipates could draw up to 20 million attendees. Vahidi had not been publicly seen since the start of the war prior to his appearance last week.
Footage broadcast by Iranian state media showed three of Khamenei's sons—Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud—visibly distressed as the coffins of their father and other family members were carried into Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Sunday. However, one of Khamenei's sons, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is positioned as his successor, has been notably absent from the public displays of state power.
According to Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, the funeral is designed to convey a strong message. "The message is that while the leader is gone, the Islamic Republic’s institutions remain intact and the state endures," Mortazavi told TIME. This message aims to reassure both domestic and international audiences of the regime's stability.