Iran supreme leader absent as senior officials attend ayatollah funeral

Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei dey clearly absent from im father funeral, as senior regime figures join thousands to pay dia respects to di late ayatollah on Sunday.

Ali Khamenei three oda sons - Masoud, Mostafa and Meysam - all attend di service on Sunday, alongside officials wey include President Masoud Pezeshkian and Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi.

Speculation about Mojtaba condition - afta tori spread say e injure for di same US-Israel strikes wey kill im father – don continue as e neva show for public since im appointment for early March.

Di elder Khamenei bin rule di Islamic republic from 1989 until im death for February.

Official funeral proceedings for late supreme leader bin start on Friday, wit events planned across Iran and Iraq ova di coming week.

Iranian authorities say 12-20 million pipo dey expected to attend di ceremonies, dem call di "funeral of di century".

Khamenei body currently dey lie in state for Tehran Grand Mosalla religious complex, prominent Shia cleric Jafar Sobhani, one 97-year-old scholar wey dey teach for seminaries for di holy city of Qom, lead di funeral service.

Dem declare Sunday public holiday across Iran, and later in di day, dem go move Khamenei body out of di Grand Mosalla ahead of one processions through di capital on Monday.

Apart from Mojtaba Khamenei absence, di ceremony dey carefully choreographed

Mojtaba Khamenei absence from di proceedings, dey come on di backdrop of threats from Israel to assassinate am too.

One fragile ceasefire between di warring countries currently dey go on while talks on a permanent peace deal continue - though both sides don warn say dem ready to resume military action.

News website Axios bin quoted US President Donald Trump on Saturday say e tok say dem pause di peace talks for a week for di events surrounding di funeral.

As many of di Iranian regime senior officials dey attend, Washington fit take all of dem wit "one shot", dem quote Trump as e tok and add say: "But we no go do like dat becos then, we no go get anybody to negotiate wit."

Di president also say im surprise to see Iranians dey cry, e say im think say pipo hate Khamenei. "Maybe na fake tears," e tok.

In response to Trump claim, mourner Zahra Safaei, 50, tell Reuters: "We no do revolution 47 years ago to shed fake tears. We no sacrifice all these martyrs to cry fake tears."

Di Associated Press and Guardian report say pipo bin dey call for US President Donald Trump death on Sunday, as poet Mohammad Rasouli tok for one poetry recitation bifor di prayer say "Trump murder na our responsibility".

Pipo fit hear as Rasouli also dey call for "death to America" and "death to Israel".

Many pipo for di city on Sunday bin hold banners wey include slogans "kill Trump", "kill Bibi", in reference to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and "we go revenge".

Much of central Tehran go dey locked down ova di weekend as di funeral ceremony get under way.

E dey expected to be di largest funeral ever in terms of attendees as a proportion of di kontri population.

Tehran events alone dey expected to attract more dan 10 million mourners from across Iran, wit strict security measures imposed and official media don warn of stampede sake of di crowd.

Khamenei body go lie in di Grand Mosalla for three days, alongside di bodies of four of im relatives wey also die on di strikes on Tehran, including im one-year-old granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani.

More events go hold outside di capital.

On Tuesday, dem go move im body go Qom, go di south of Tehran, wia one senior Shia cleric go lead funeral prayers for Jamkaran, one of Iran most prominent and symbolic religious sites.

E go then travel to Najaf for Iraq on Wednesday. E go follow one procession for di shrine of Imam Ali, Shia Islam first imam, ceremonies go continue for Karbala bifor di body return to Iran.

Then on Thursday, dem go bury Khamenei for di Imam Reza Shrine, di mausoleum of Shia Islam eighth imam and Iran most important pilgrimage site, for Mashhad.

Ceremonies beyond di six-day procession go continue across di kontri for di following 40 days, wit commemorative events planned until di first anniversary of Khamenei burial.

Throughout im rule, Ali Khamenei bin pursue policy of confrontation wit di West and for years bin provide support to anti-US and anti-Israel armed groups across di Middle East, wey include Hamas for Gaza, Hezbollah for Lebanon plus di Houthis for Yemen.