Iran has formally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on 28 February, India Today reported, citing Iranian news agency ISNA. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian extended the invitation to the Indian prime minister.
The state funeral programme is scheduled to begin on 4 July with farewell ceremonies in Tehran, where Khamenei’s body will lie in state on 4 and 5 July. A funeral prayer will be held in Tehran on 6 July. On 7 July, a second funeral will take place in Qom. The body will then be transported to Mashhad in north-eastern Iran, where a final funeral prayer will be held on 9 July before burial at the shrine of Imam Reza.
The invitation places New Delhi in a significant diplomatic and strategic position, India Today reported. India has deep historical, energy and trade ties with Iran, and its only land route to Afghanistan and Central Asia — bypassing Pakistan — runs through Iran’s Chabahar Port, in which India has made substantial investment. At the same time, India’s strategic and military partnerships with the United States and Israel have grown considerably in recent years, complicating how it responds to Tehran’s invitation.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report