Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita will represent India at the state funeral and burial ceremonies of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been formally invited by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to attend the ceremonies. However, the Prime Minister will not be able to participate as he will be on a pre-scheduled visit to Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia during the same period.
Last week, President Pezeshkian formally invited Prime Minister Modi to attend the funeral of Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.
The funeral ceremonies were originally scheduled to take place in March but were postponed
because of the conflict in the region. They are now set to be held over several days in July across multiple cities in Iran.
Ceremonies to begin on July 4
The state funeral 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 Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
The final burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown.
India’s delegation, led by Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State Pabitra Margherita, will represent the country at the ceremonies in place of the Prime Minister, whose overseas engagements had been finalised before the invitation was extended.
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