Iran prepares to bury slain supreme leader with week of mass mourning; who will represent India?

Iran is preparing for a week of mass mourning and funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with millions expected to join processions across Iran and Iraq before his burial in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9.India will be officially represented at Khamenei’s funeral by Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita, The Indian Express reported.

Iran has also extended invitations to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the party’s media and publicity wing head Pawan Khera to attend the burial ceremonies, according to The Hindu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also reportedly been invited, though it remains unclear whether he will travel to Iran for the ceremonies.Separately, Art of Living founder Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar have reached Tehran to participate in the state funeral, ANI reported.

Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war on February 28, will lie in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla prayer complex from Saturday. A major funeral procession is scheduled to pass through the streets of Tehran on Monday.

The procession will then move to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday before ceremonies continue in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday. Khamenei’s body will return to Iran on Thursday for burial in Mashhad, bringing the six-day funeral ceremonies to a close.

Several foreign delegations have also begun arriving in Tehran. A delegation from Lebanon’s Amal Movement has met Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf ahead of the funeral. The group is a key ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Iranian authorities expect more than 20 million people in Tehran for the funeral events, which come amid heightened tensions following the war and the leadership transition to Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei.