Tehran: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 30 years, was killed Feb. 28, the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Tehran. President Pezeshkian has invited the Indian prime minister to the burial ceremonies, diplomatic sources said.
Funeral to be held in Tehran and Qom on July 5, 6, and 7The funeral will be held in Tehran and Qom on July 5, 6 and 7. The final ceremony will be held in the city of Mashhad on July 9.
Officials anticipate millions of mourners will attend the funeral ceremonies, which will serve as the formal send-off for a leader who helped shape Iran’s political system for nearly four decades. The burial service was originally planned to take place in Tehran and Mashhad March 4 to 6, 2026, but was postponed because of the war.
Nearly 20 million mourners expected at funeralReports say almost 20 million mourners are expected to attend the funeral in Tehran, Mashad and Qom and if the figures turn out to be correct, it could break the 10-million record set by the 1989 funeral of the Islamic Republic of Iran's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Since the death of Ali Khamenei on March 8, Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, 56, has been Iran’s Supreme Leader. But questions about his health and whereabouts remain after a number of senior US officials, including Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, said he is in a coma.
Iran and US sign peace deal after months of fightingIran and the US have signed up for a peace deal after months of conflict on the war front that led West Asia into a crisis and sparked a global fuel and energy crunch. Iran President Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump signed digital MoUs separately and long-term peace talks are going on between the two sides in Switzerland.
In another development, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held talks with Pakistan's top civilian and military leadership on Tuesday on regional developments and peace initiatives involving the US.
Pezeshkian, who was on a day-long visit to Pakistan, held separate talks with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Prime Minister Sharif said during a joint press conference with President Pezeshkian after their delegation-level talks that "the peace deal between the US and Iran would bring a new era in the region". He visits days after Iran held talks with the US in Switzerland where the two sides agreed on a roadmap to seal a final deal in 60 days
The high-level talks were held at the Lake Lucerne Summit in Switzerland on Sunday and Monday under the framework of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the US and Iran to move ahead with negotiations on regional security and other contentious issues. The US and Iran on Thursday signed the Islamabad MoU to bring peace to West Asia, advance negotiations on regional security, and other contentious issues.
Also Read: