Iranian security officials have reportedly prevented Mojtaba Khamenei, the nation's new supreme leader, from attending his father Ali Khamenei's funeral. The decision stems from fears that Israel could attempt to assassinate him if he made a public appearance, according to individuals within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who spoke to The New York Times.
Mojtaba Khamenei had requested to perform funeral rites for his father, who is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9. However, security officials advised him against revealing himself, even to the extent of releasing his voice, Iran's Ansaf News reported last month, citing his sister-in-law's brother, Mohammad Hossein Khoshvaght.
Since the reported joint US-Israeli strike on February 28 that killed his father, his wife, and his teenage son, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard from publicly, apart from messages posted on X and statements read on state media. This has led some Iranians to refer to him as the "cardboard ayatollah," a nickname referencing posters of him displayed across the country.
He is believed to be in hiding in an undisclosed underground bunker, which has reportedly eluded detection by U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies. Khamenei was also absent from a memorial ceremony for his wife, Zahra Hadad-Adel, held on Wednesday in Tehran.
US intelligence had previously assessed Mojtaba Khamenei as "probably gay" and briefed former President Trump on this assessment in March, The Post reported. The late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike on his Tehran compound on February 28. Mourners gathered in Tehran on Saturday to view his casket, with hundreds of thousands attending a public viewing in the Grand Mosalla courtyard. The official state funeral procession is expected to conclude with his burial on July 9.