An Iranian man rides his motorbike past a billboard bearing the images of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R), and his son the current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (C), erected along a street in Tehran on May 28, 2026. (AFP)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in U.S.-Israeli attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office, is alive and increasingly active.
"I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28.
Rubio was testifying in front of the Senate panel as talks on ending the three-month-old war that has engulfed the Middle East and triggered a global energy crisis have stalled.
Rubio expressed hope for a deal with Iran, while insisting that Tehran must severely limit its nuclear program in order to see sanctions lifted.
"There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week," Rubio said.
Rubio said that Tehran must agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas.
"They have to announce very clearly 'The straits are now open, we're not charging a toll'." We will help remove the mines that they put in there, and they will not fire on ships."
Additionally, he said: "They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and/or cancellation of enrichment activity."
Rubio continued: "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium, Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities, if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief."
Iran plans three-day funeral for late supreme leader
Iran said on Tuesday it will hold a three-day state funeral for late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, at a date to be announced.
Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic republic for nearly 37 years, was killed in his home in central Tehran on Feb. 28.
A state funeral initially planned for March 4 was postponed due to the war.
"A three-day public funeral is planned," Tehran Deputy Mayor Mohammad Amin Tavakolizadeh was quoted as saying by state television on Tuesday.
Tavakolizadeh did not specify when the funeral would take place but said it could be in early Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which falls in mid-June.
He said funeral events would take place in Tehran, as well as in the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, where Khamenei would be buried.
"In Tehran, the ceremony will last at least 24 hours," Tavakolizadeh stated, adding that up to 20 million people are expected to attend.
