SAEDNEWS: In a rare public display of personal solidarity, former President Hassan Rouhani has expressed deep gratitude to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for attending his mother’s memorial service—accompanying the grieving family from the mosque’s entrance through the departure.
According to Saed News, photographs taken in 2015 at the Shahid Motahari Higher Education Institute in Tehran capture a touching moment of intergenerational respect within Iran’s leadership. As Rouhani bid farewell to his late mother, Ayatollah Khamenei emerged to greet him at the mosque’s threshold, then remained throughout the service and escorted him as he departed—an uncommon gesture underscoring the personal bonds that sometimes bridge the Islamic Republic’s institutional hierarchies.
Hassan Rouhani, who served as Iran’s seventh president from 2013 to 2021, lost his mother in the spring of 2015. The images show Rouhani, visibly moved, meeting Khamenei outside the mosque and later walking side by side as mourners dispersed. For many observers, the Supreme Leader’s presence—ordinarily reserved for state occasions—signified a mark of familial solidarity rather than protocol.
Analysts note that while Iran’s top cleric rarely appears at private ceremonies, his attendance spoke volumes to domestic audiences attuned to the symbolic power of such acts. It reinforced the narrative of unity among the republic’s senior figures at a moment of personal loss. Social media users responded warmly, commending both the former president’s humility and Khamenei’s gesture of compassion.
In a political context often dominated by grand ideology, these photographs offered a glimpse into the human dimensions of Iran’s ruling elite—reminding citizens that beneath the robes of authority lie shared experiences of grief and gratitude.
