Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were seen breaking down in tears during the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday.
Khamenei was killed in a joint Israeli-US airstrike in Iran on February 28.
His body lay in state at a vast hall in Tehran as clerics, senior government officials, foreign dignitaries and thousands of mourners paid their respects.
Following the ceremony in Tehran, Khamenei's body is expected to be taken to the holy Shi'ite cities of Qom in Iran and Najaf and Karbala in Iraq before being laid to rest in Mashhad on Thursday.
According to reports, Iranian authorities are seeking to mobilise millions of mourners for the funeral processions over the coming days by arranging transportation, food and accommodation.
"Exactly at 6 a.m. tomorrow, the doors of Tehran's Prayer Grounds will open; there will be no opening before 6," Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamadian was quoted as saying by Fars News.
Besides Ghalibaf and Araghchi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje'i, and Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani were among the senior Iranian leaders who attended the funeral.
Indian delegation pays tribute
Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain represented India at Khamenei's funeral ceremony in Tehran on Friday.
"Hon'ble @GovernorBihar and I represented India at the funeral ceremony for Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, in Tehran. Conveyed our respects on behalf of the Government and the people of India," Margherita wrote in a post on X.
Several prominent Indian political figures, including People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, also paid tribute to the late Iranian leader.
