Ali Khamenei funeral: Indian delegation pays tribute in Tehran ahead of final farewell

An Indian delegation comprising Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain paid tribute to late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday ahead of the start of his multi-day state funeral.

The initial state mourning rituals commenced at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla Complex in the heart of the capital, where the casket containing the late leader's mortal remains has been placed in the primary prayer hall for international guests and dignitaries to offer condolences.

Besides the two high-profile Indian dignitaries, a cross-party delegation of prominent political leaders also travelled to Tehran following formal invitations from the Iranian presidency. Former External Affairs Minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid represented Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti also attended the funeral, becoming the only non-Shia political leader from the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh region invited by the Iranian government.

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"It is an immense honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive this invitation. I will travel there to pay my last respects to the supreme leader," Mufti stated prior to her departure from New Delhi.

Also read | Why Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is likely to skip father’s grand funeral

Grand Mosalla commencements

Images shared by the Embassy of Iran in India showed Indian dignitaries paying their respects alongside international delegates, religious scholars, and cultural figures from across the globe.

The casket holding Ayatollah Khamenei, who died earlier this year on February 28 following joint US-Israeli airstrikes, was seen draped in the sacred red flag from the shrine of Imam Hussein, a symbol of sacrifice and resistance in Shia Islam. Because Islamic law bars chemical embalming, authorities safely preserved the late leader's remains in specialised, low-temperature cold storage over the last four months due to regional security escalations that initially delayed the public proceedings.

Massive crowds of mourners dressed in black have already begun flooding the streets of Tehran, waving national flags and carrying portraits of the late leader.

A fortress around Tehran

The farewell events mark the beginning of what is expected to be one of the largest and most strictly choreographed state funerals in the history of the Islamic Republic. Hoping to avoid the crowd crushes that marred the historic burials of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and General Qasem Soleimani in 2020, Iranian authorities have blanketed the capital in unprecedented security.

The extensive funeral schedule spans across two countries and multiple cities:

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared public holidays in Tehran from Saturday through Monday to manage the massive influx of mourners, while the airspace over the capital remains heavily restricted.

Tehran expects officials from nearly 100 countries to arrive over the coming days to witness the transition of power under current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.