Iran's Supreme Leader Skips Father's Funeral, Signaling Legitimacy Crisis

Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed Supreme Leader in March, did not attend his father Ali Khamenei's funeral on Sunday—a glaring absence at Iran's largest state ceremony in decades. All three of his brothers attended. In Shia political tradition, the Supreme Leader's presence at a national moment of mourning affirms legitimate authority. His invisibility raises urgent questions about whether he can consolidate power, especially given reports he sustained facial disfigurement and leg injuries in February's strikes that killed his father.