World leaders head to Tehran for Khamenei funeral

Iran is beginning a seven-day funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with representatives from more than 100 countries expected to attend, according to Iranian state-linked broadcaster IRIB. The gathering brings foreign leaders to Tehran months after Khamenei, 86, was killed in a joint United States-Israeli air strike on his compound on February 28, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.

The main international ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Tehran, according to Al Jazeera. Khamenei’s burial had first been planned for March, but Al Jazeera reported that it was delayed as the US-Israel war on Iran continued.

Who is attending

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the state funeral. Al Jazeera reported that Pakistan has played a central mediation role between Washington and Tehran, helping secure an April ceasefire and a June memorandum of understanding now being used in broader talks aimed at ending the war.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili are also expected to attend, according to the countries’ confirmations cited by Al Jazeera.

Turkey will send Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Ankara confirmed. The Kremlin said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former Russian president and prime minister, will attend Friday’s ceremony.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said He Wei, a senior lawmaker and vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, will represent Beijing. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Deputy Foreign Minister Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain will travel to Iran on Friday; Al Jazeera reported that Hasnain, a former Indian Army lieutenant general, is the senior-most Shia holding public office in India.

Indian opposition figures Salman Khurshid, a former foreign minister, and Mehbooba Mufti are also part of the Indian delegation, Al Jazeera reported. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to Tehran on Thursday, while Afghan media reported that Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban government’s first deputy prime minister for economic affairs, would also attend. Bangladeshi media, citing official notifications, reported that Parliament Speaker Hafizuddin Ahmed is scheduled to attend.

Funeral route and security

Al Jazeera reported that public ceremonies will continue in Tehran on Saturday and Sunday, with Khamenei’s coffin and those of several family members placed at the Grand Mosalla prayer complex for viewing. On Monday and Tuesday, processions are due to move south toward Qom.

Iranian and Iraqi leaders said an official reception will be held Wednesday at Najaf International Airport in Iraq, followed by public processions in Najaf and Karbala, according to Al Jazeera. The body is then expected to return to Iran for burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei’s birthplace, on Friday.

Al Jazeera reported that the proceedings are expected to rank among the largest public funerals in modern history and could exceed the scale of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1989 funeral, which drew about 10 million mourners.

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s current supreme leader and Khamenei’s son, will not attend for security reasons, his representative to India said Thursday, according to Al Jazeera. The representative cited Israel’s latest threat to assassinate him.

Iranian state media carried a warning Thursday from Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, who cautioned the US and Israel against attacking Iran during the funeral period. Abdollahi said Iran’s armed forces would retaliate against any threat or aggression, according to the state media statement.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.