Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Indian side is yet to publicly respond to the invitation. According to diplomatic sources, if PM Modi is unable to travel to Iran, a high-level delegation from the Ministry of External Affairs will reportedly represent India at the ceremony.
The funeral is expected to be attended by top Pakistani leaders, including PM Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir.
Khamenei was killed in airstrikes on February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran. The funeral rites will begin on July 4 and conclude with his burial at his hometown of Mashhad on July 9. Public processions and events are planned across Tehran, Mashhad and Qom.
In 2016, during a visit to Tehran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Ali Khamenei a rare seventh century manuscript of the Holy Quran written in Kufic script and attributed to Prophet’s son-in-law Hazrat Ali, the fourth Islamic caliph and first Shia Imam.
This comes as Iran's current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that he had authorised the MoU signed by the Iranian and US presidents. Though he initially held a different view, he said he changed his stance after receiving assurances from President Pezeshkian and other senior officials.
In a written message to the people of Iran, Khamenei said Pezeshkian had accepted responsibility to ensuring the peace deal protected Iran's interests and pledged not to yield if Washington made what he described as excessive demands. Khamenei added that future face-to-face negotiations with the US would not mean accepting "the enemy's position".
