Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state funeral and burial ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader of Iran, sources said.
The official invitation marks a significant diplomatic engagement following the death of the 86-year-old leader, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28. Having headed the Islamic Republic for 36 years, Khamenei was killed on the first day of the military strikes directed against Tehran.
According to Iranian state media, the multi-day funeral ceremonies are scheduled to begin on July 4. The rituals will include events in Qom, a holy city south of Tehran, on July 7 and will conclude with his final burial on July 9 in his hometown, the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
While Islamic jurisprudence typically dictates that a deceased person be buried as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, exceptions are permissible, particularly during a state of war.
Speculation regarding the timeline of the final ceremonies had been mounting since February, with early reports suggesting a late June date before state media officially confirmed the July schedule.The state funeral is anticipated to draw close to 20 million mourners across Tehran, Mashhad, and Qom. A large number of foreign dignitaries, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are expected to attend the ceremonies.If the projected turnout is met, it will break the record of 10 million attendees set during the 1989 funeral of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
