rki.news | Source: Anadolu
TEHRAN, July 3: Funeral ceremonies for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei began in Tehran on Friday, drawing heads of state, senior government officials, religious leaders and political delegations from across the Middle East and beyond.
Iranian state television broadcast live coverage as official memorial events commenced in the capital. The ceremonies follow Khamenei’s death in a joint US-Israeli military strike on February 28, an event that intensified regional tensions and triggered weeks of conflict.
Among the foreign dignitaries attending were Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Uzbek Parliament Speaker Nuriddin Ismoilov, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili and an official Omani delegation.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also arrived in Tehran leading an official delegation to attend the funeral ceremonies.
Iranian media reported the arrival of delegations representing Palestinian religious scholars, Russian clerics, Turkish and Lebanese political parties, Indian representatives and Thai Shia Muslim groups. Representatives of Bulgaria’s Republican Party and members of parliament also attended memorial events, while Lebanon’s Hezbollah held a separate farewell ceremony.
According to the official programme, memorial events in Tehran will continue through July 5, followed by the main funeral procession on July 6. The ceremonies will then move to the holy city of Qom on July 7 before continuing in Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala on July 8. The final funeral and burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Ali Reza Shrine in Mashhad.