Delayed burial, absent successor: Questions over post-Khamenei Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that he met Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

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Naqvi handed Araghchi a letter from Pakistani officials addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, state media reported.

The delay has become one of the most unusual and politically sensitive aspects of Iran's post-war transition. While senior military commanders and officials killed in the same conflict have already been buried, repeated promises of a massive funeral for Khamenei have so far gone unfulfilled.

Tehran municipal officials spoke of plans for a multi-day funeral procession later this month. Ceremonies, they said, are expected to span several cities before Khamenei's final burial in the religious city of Mashhad.

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The prolonged delay sits awkwardly alongside Shi'ite religious tradition, which generally favors the prompt burial of the dead. Classical jurisprudence encourages hastening burial except in exceptional circumstances, such as uncertainty over death or concerns about preserving life. Several contemporary clerics have similarly argued that unnecessary delays should be avoided if they risk disrespecting the deceased.

The absence of a funeral has fueled speculation about the condition of Khamenei's remains following the strike that killed him. Iranian media reports about other officials who died in the same attack described bodies recovered weeks later and identified only through DNA testing after suffering extensive damage.

Officials have released no information about the condition or location of Khamenei's remains.

Security concerns and a missing successor

The unanswered questions surrounding the burial have merged with another mystery: the continued absence of Khamenei's successor.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed leadership following his father's death, has not appeared publicly since the attack. Officials insist he survived and suffered only minor injuries, but reports and rumors about more serious wounds have persisted.

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If alive and active, Mojtaba Khamenei would rank among Israel's most prominent targets. Any large public appearance could present significant security risks.

That reality complicates what would ordinarily be a defining moment for a new leader. A funeral for a supreme leader is not merely a religious ceremony; it is also a display of political continuity. The absence of the successor from such an event would be difficult to explain, while his appearance could expose him to risks the authorities may be unwilling to accept.

The politics of a funeral

There is also a political dimension to the delay. The Islamic Republic has a long history of using such ceremonies for political messaging. An example was the funeral of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force.

The funeral procession, held for several days, passed through Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Tehran and Qom before Soleimani was ultimately buried in Kerman.

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State media and Iranian officials said millions of people attended the ceremonies and repeatedly used images from the events in official messaging.

The publicity surrounding the funeral largely overlooked the deaths of 56 mourners, who were killed in a stampede during the burial ceremony in Kerman.

Officials have shown they hope for a similarly turnout for Khamenei. Yet organizing a funeral on that scale in the aftermath of war presents obvious logistical and security challenges.

For now, the result is an unusual limbo. One hundred days after Khamenei's death, Iran has formally selected a successor but has yet to publicly introduce him. It has promised a historic farewell for its former leader but has yet to hold one. And it continues to confront questions that neither official statements nor public ceremonies have managed to answer.

An Iranian judiciary deputy on Sunday denied that protesters are executed merely for taking part in demonstrations.

“Some people online say a certain person was executed because of protesting. This is an absolute lie. No one is executed merely for protesting,” Hadi Sadeghi said.

He said executions were carried out only after accusations such as espionage were proven.

“Unless it is proven that a person committed espionage, acted as an agent of a foreign power, killed someone or committed a crime, they are not executed,” he said.

Amnesty International said on May 28 that Iranian authorities were using wartime conditions to intensify repression, including mass arrests, fast-tracked prosecutions, political executions and harsh prison sentences.

The rights group said more than 6,000 people had been arbitrarily arrested since the Iran war began on February 28, including protesters, journalists, lawyers, rights defenders, dissidents and members of ethnic and religious minorities.

The appearance of Iranian pop singer Gheysar, who has spent nearly four decades living in Los Angeles, at a state-backed religious celebration in Tehran has sparked widespread debate over politics, culture, and the possible return of exiled artists.

The performance took place on Thursday during Eid al-Ghadir celebrations at Imam Hossein Square in central Tehran. The event, which received extensive coverage from official and semi-official media outlets, featured Binesh Bolour, known professionally as Gheysar, who has lived outside Iran for nearly four decades.

In recent years, the Islamic Republic has sought to transform Eid al-Ghadir into a broader national celebration through large-scale public events held in city streets and squares.

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The performance took place on Thursday during Eid al-Ghadir celebrations at Imam Hossein Square in central Tehran. The event, which received extensive coverage from official and semi-official media outlets, featured Binesh Bolour, known professionally as Gheysar, who has lived outside Iran for nearly four decades.

In recent years, the Islamic Republic has sought to transform Eid al-Ghadir into a broader national celebration through large-scale public events held in city streets and squares.

The festival included speeches by clerics, performances by government-approved pop singers and religious vocalists closely associated with hardline political groups. Gheysar took the stage as some members of the crowd chanted “Long Live Iran” and “Death to America.”

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Official and semi-official media outlets, including state broadcaster IRIB, widely circulated videos of his appearance. In a caption accompanying one of the videos, IRIB wrote that Gheysar had “shouted out his patriotism and returned to Iran” after the outbreak of the recent war involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.

The newspaper Haft-e Sobh described Gheysar’s participation in an official event as both “surprising” and “taboo-breaking,” noting that it was unprecedented since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The newspaper wrote: “Gheysar’s presence in Tehran and his performance should be regarded as an important development with dimensions beyond an artistic event. This form of participation in an official ceremony could symbolize the breaking of one of the cultural boundaries of the past four decades.”

Anti-western statements during the war

During the recent conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel, Gheysar repeatedly criticized US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on social media. He also strongly attacked Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and opposition groups that advocated foreign support for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.

In one video, he said the Iranian nation had broken the “hegemony of the West” and that he was proud of being Iranian. Following the military confrontation, he published additional videos praising Iran’s military capabilities and said: “We shattered the West’s grandeur, and I am proud of that.”

Mixed reactions online

The singer’s appearance has generated sharply divided reactions on social media. Some users described the government’s decision to allow him to perform as hypocrisy, arguing that the authorities embrace nationalism only when they need public support.

One user, Mehrdad Raha, wrote: “Whenever you see a veteran Iranian singer abroad becoming softer in tone toward the Islamic Republic, know that the government has probably been in contact with them for some time, using intermediaries, with promises of money, sponsorship, travel opportunities to Iran, or other incentives to win them over.”

Gheysar rejected such accusations in a video circulated online. He said this was not his first visit to Iran and insisted that he had not returned for money or to obtain a permanent license to work in the country.

He said he had participated in the ceremony because, like many Shiites, he holds a deep respect for Imam Ali, whom Shiites believe was designated by the Prophet Muhammad as his successor at Ghadir.

The legacy of the “Los Angeles singer”

The controversy also revived discussion about the long-standing phenomenon of the so-called “Los Angeles singer.”

Following the 1979 revolution, many Iranian pop stars and actors left the country, particularly female performers whose singing careers were effectively prohibited under the new political order. Many settled in the United States, especially in Southern California.

For years, recordings by exiled singers circulated inside Iran through cassette tapes and videotapes that were copied and distributed despite official restrictions. Possession or distribution of such material could expose people to legal penalties.

The style of dance-oriented Persian pop music associated with Los Angeles was often portrayed in official discourse as morally corrupt, and the term “Los Angeles singer” frequently carried a derogatory connotation in state media.

Several Iranian outlets referred to Gheysar, who has also performed in Israel, a destination Iranian citizens are generally prohibited from visiting, in exactly those terms while reporting on his recent appearance.

Yet the two songs he performed in Tehran differed markedly from the repertoire that made him famous.

One song was dedicated to his hometown, Tehran. The second, titled “The Children of Minab,” was inspired by damage to a school in the southern city of Minab during the first day of the recent conflict. Iranian media reported that 120 schoolchildren and nearly 40 teachers, staff members and parents were killed in the attack.

Could other exile artists return?

Gheysar’s official appearance has renewed speculation about whether other prominent exile artists might be allowed to return.

Haft-e Sobh asked: “Now we must wait and see whether Gheysar’s return is an exception or whether this path will be opened for other artists as well. Will this remain limited to one person, or could it become a model for the future?”

In recent months, several well-known Los Angeles-based Iranian singers have publicly expressed a desire to spend their final years in Iran.

Among those expressing a desire to return is veteran singer Shahram Shabpareh, who has said he would like to spend the final years of his life and career in Iran.

The possibility of a return by singer Moein has also been the subject of recurring speculation, although reports about potential concerts in Iran have repeatedly been denied by him or those close to him.

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For supporters, Gheysar’s appearance may signal a gradual easing of long-standing cultural restrictions surrounding exiled performers.

Skeptics, however, point to the experience of singer Habib, who returned to Iran in 2009 but was repeatedly denied permits to perform, arguing that official approval can be fleeting and does not necessarily translate into lasting artistic freedom.