AFP — The absence of Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei from the funeral ceremonies of Ali Khamenei raised questions about his health and fear of assassination, as well as indicating he may perform a quite different function as number one compared with his all-powerful father.

The marathon funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, killed on February 28 in an airstrike on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran, culminated on Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad, with a who’s who of key figures in the Islamic Republic attending his burial.

Those present included the speaker of parliament and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, powerful chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and Ali Khamenei’s eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei.

But there was no sign of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader shortly after his father’s killing and has only communicated via written statements since, with no public appearances.

Despite many unverified claims and social media users scouring images of the events for a glimpse of the 56-year-old, there was no confirmed appearance from him.

Was he too badly wounded or even disfigured in the airstrike that killed his father to appear? Or was there concern that Israel or the US would directly target him too?

Whatever the case, Mojtaba Khamenei is shaping up to be a different political figure from his father — let alone from Ali Khamenei’s predecessor, revolutionary founder Ruhollah Khomeini — with even more power set to be delegated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) ideological army amid possible political infighting, analysts say.

But it is also far too early to write him off as a political actor, while disappearance and occultation are........

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