Union Minister Pabitra Margherita, Bihar Governor to attend Khamenei's funeral
The Indian government will send Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain to attend the
The Indian government will send Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain to attend the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, government sources told India Today TV on Monday. Last week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sources told India Today TV. The funeral rites are scheduled to begin on July 4 and will end with his burial in Mashhad, the holy city in north-eastern Iran where he was born, on July 9. Read Full Story Khamenei, who was 86, was killed on February 28, the first day of Israeli and US airstrikes on Tehran.
He had led the Islamic Republic as supreme leader for 36 years. State media has said the funeral arrangements will also include ceremonies in Qom, another holy city south of Tehran, on July 7. The date of Khamenei's funeral had been the subject of speculation since his assassination in February. Under Islamic law, the dead are to be buried as soon as possible, ideally within a day of death, although exceptions are allowed, especially during war. Early reports had said he might be buried at the end of June, before state media confirmed that the rites would be held in July. The funeral is expected to draw nearly 20 million mourners across Tehran, Mashhad and Qom.
Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are also expected to attend. If the turnout matches those estimates, it could surpass the 10 million people reported at the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. All eyes will be on whether Iran's current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, will make a public appearance at the funeral. He has not been seen in public or on video since he was injured in the February 28 airstrike that killed his father. Questions over his health and whereabouts have persisted. Several senior US officials, including Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, have claimed that he is in a coma.
Iranian state media, meanwhile, has reported that he suffered severe facial disfigurement and leg injuries but has not confirmed his current condition. The developments come after Iran and the US agreed to a peace deal following months of conflict that pushed West Asia into crisis and led to a global fuel and energy crunch. Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump signed digital MoUs separately, while long-term peace talks between the two sides are continuing in Switzerland.e. Ends
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