Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an unexpected public appearance during the funeral ceremony of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, following months of speculation that he may have been killed during the early days of the Iran-Israel conflict.
Ahmadinejad, who served as Iran’s president from 2005 to 2013, joined millions of mourners dressed in black as Khamenei’s coffin was carried through the streets of Tehran in one of the largest funeral processions in the country’s history.
His public appearance came after earlier reports had claimed that the former president was killed during strikes at the beginning of the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Two other former Iranian presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, were absent from the funeral ceremony. Critics claimed that they had not been invited to the commemorative events.
