New Delhi: India’s delegation to Iran for the funeral of the country’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will be led by Bihar governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) and minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita.
The funeral services will begin on July 4 and are expected to last till July 9 when Khamenei will be laid to rest.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian had formally invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the services.
The Prime Minister will not be able to attend though as he will be on a pre-scheduled visit to Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia during the same period. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is also likely to be with PM Modi, as reported by News18.
Khamenei was killed along with several of his family members in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.
The funeral services were originally scheduled to take place in March but had to be postponed because of the conflict in the region. They are now set to be held over several days across multiple cities in Iran.
The services will begin on July 4, with Khamenei’s body lying in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex. Public processions are planned in Tehran and Qom as part of the ceremonies. Prayers will also be held in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq.
Millions of people are expected to come out on the streets of Iran to bid a final farewell to their leader who has been at the helm for nearly three decades.
He will be laid to rest on July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown.
A large number of leaders from several countries are likely to attend the services.
