Missing Iranian general appears at Khamenei funeral service in Tehran

Ahmad Vahidi, one of Iran’s most powerful generals, reappeared on Thursday after months out of public view, showing up at a funeral-planning meeting for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and then sitting beside the late supreme leader’s casket. The images, released by Iranian state media, placed Vahidi inside a mourning hall near Khamenei’s former home in downtown Tehran as the country prepared for a week of funeral processions and public mourning.

Khamenei died at 86, and Iran began staging a broad display of state ritual around his death, with millions expected to take part in ceremonies in Tehran. The smaller service on Thursday night took place in a hall adjacent to the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya inside the Supreme Leader’s compound, a setting that underscored how tightly the mourning events were being managed by the state.

Vahidi’s return to public view drew attention because he had not been seen for months and has been described as a major player in Iran’s hard line during the war and in negotiations over a possible end to the conflict. His appearance at the funeral preparations put one of the Islamic Republic’s most visible security figures back at the center of a highly choreographed public moment, just as officials worked to project continuity and control.

The funeral period also carried a clear warning to Washington and Jerusalem. Iranian military officials said the United States and Israel should not strike during the mourning events, and Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya, warned against “any miscalculation” and threatened a “harsh and regrettable” response if Iran were attacked.

The funeral itself has become more than a farewell to Khamenei. With the casket displayed in Tehran and state media signaling a massive turnout, the public appearances around it are functioning as a map of influence: who is visible, who is trusted, and who is being positioned to speak for the state as Iran moves through one of its most politically sensitive mourning periods in years.