Global Leaders Gather to Honor Iran's Late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Tribute Ceremony in Tehran

Tehran: A solemn tribute was held in Tehran for Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attended by numerous high-ranking officials from both Iran and abroad.

The ceremony commenced on Friday morning at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla prayer hall in central Tehran and continued throughout the day, as reported by a news agency.

Among those present were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, and Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council Sadeq Amoli Larijani, along with other senior officials.

International dignitaries included heads of state, parliament leaders, and ministers from various nations, such as Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Iraqi President Nizar Amedi, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, alongside senior representatives from China and Russia.

The ceremony also saw participation from religious leaders, scholars, and tribal chiefs.

Funeral observances will extend until July 9, featuring processions in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad, as well as rituals in Iraq. Iranian officials have announced public closures and airspace restrictions in Tehran and Mashhad on significant dates, with Thursday designated as a national day of mourning.

Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a US and Israeli strike in Tehran on February 28. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was appointed as Iran's new supreme leader in March.

Additionally, India's Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retired) represented India at the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

MoS Margherita shared on social media, "Governor of Bihar Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain and I represented India at the funeral ceremony for Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, in Tehran. We conveyed our respects on behalf of the government and the people of India."

A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs highlighted that the high-level representation at the ceremony reflects the significance of civilizational ties and people-to-people connections between India and Iran, which serve as a strong foundation for political and economic relations.

Farewell ceremonies are scheduled at Imam Khomeini's Mosalla prayer hall in Tehran on July 4-5, followed by a funeral procession on July 6.

Another procession will occur in Qom on July 7.