Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is learnt to have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the burial ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. The funeral ceremonies will be held from July 5 to 9. However, there is no confirmation from New Delhi on the invitation to PM Modi.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for three decades, was killed on February 28, the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran. The Indian prime minister has been invited by President Pezeshkian to the burial ceremonies, the diplomatic sources said.
The funeral is slated to be held in Tehran and Qom on July 5, 6, and 7. The final ceremony will take place in the city of Mashhad on July 9.
Officials expect millions of mourners to take part in the funeral ceremonies, which will mark the formal farewell to a leader who shaped Iranโs political system for nearly four decades. The burial service was originally expected to take place in Tehran and Mashhad between March 4 and March 6, 2026, but was delayed due to the war.
Reports suggest that the funeral is expected to witness nearly 20 million mourners in Tehran, Mashad and Qom and if the numbers turn out to be accurate, it could break the 10-million record set by the 1989 funeral of the Islamic Republic ofย Iran’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
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