Mojtaba Khamenei to skip his father's funeral over security concerns

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojataba Khamenei will not attend the funeral ceremonies for his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, due to security concerns, according to the current leader's representative in India, Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, reported ANI.

Elahi attributed the decision to Israeli threats and surveillance risks that would make public attendance dangerous.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi issued a sharp warning to the United States, urging President Donald Trump to "muzzle its pets" in Israel after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was "marked for death".

In a post on X, Araghchi said the United States had committed itself under the terms of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached to end the hostilities in West Asia, as well as restraining Israel, warning that any threat against Iran's leadership would draw an immediate response.

"The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. POTUS has committed the U.S. to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them. Any threat against our People and Leadership will receive Immediate Powerful Response," Araghchi said in the post while sharing the text of Katz's remarks from a report.

His remarks came after Israeli Defence Minister Katz on Monday reportedly referred to Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei and said he was "marked for death".

Katz also called the Iranians "good merchants", attempting to extract concessions during negotiations and reiterated that Israel would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

"If they do it through an agreement, all the better," Katz said, as per the text shared by Araghchi.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Thursday officials from more than 100 countries will attend the funeral ceremonies of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reported Xinhua.

In an interview with state-run IRIB TV, Baghaei said the foreign guests would include heads of state, parliament speakers, foreign ministers, governments' special envoys as well as a large number of personalities and popular groups.

Baghaei said the late leader's farewell and funeral ceremonies are considered a "historic and very important" event for Iranian people.

He noted that the tribute and farewell ceremonies will begin in the capital Tehran on Friday morning with the participation of personalities and popular groups, and will continue in the afternoon with the presence of high-ranking foreign officials and political figures.

In remarks on Tuesday, Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, Iran's deputy interior minister and head of the funeral organizing headquarters, said following Friday's ceremony, farewell ceremonies will be held at Imam Khomeini's Mosalla prayer hall in Tehran on Saturday and Sunday, and a funeral procession is scheduled for Monday, expected to draw large crowds from Iran and other regional states.

On July 7, he added, there will be a ceremony in Iran's central city of Qom, and on July 8, the leader's body will be transferred to Iraq for further rites. He will be laid to rest in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad on July 9, according to Pourjamshidian.

Iranian authorities have announced public closures in Tehran from Saturday to Tuesday for the holding of the ceremonies. The Iranian administration has also declared Thursday a day of national mourning.

Ali Khamenei was killed in a U.S. and Israeli strike in Tehran on Feb. 28. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was selected as Iran's new supreme leader in March.