Iran invites India's Modi to attend Khamenei state funeral

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has personally invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral and burial ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, placing New Delhi in a delicate diplomatic position. The multi-day ceremonies, scheduled from July 4 to 9, were postponed from March due to the ongoing regional conflict and will draw international delegations to several Iranian cities.

Khamenei, 86, was killed on February 28 during the opening wave of joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. He had led Iran since 1989, shaping its military and political institutions for over three decades. His son, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeded him as Supreme Leader in early March but has remained out of public view since being wounded in the same attack.

The funeral proceedings will begin with Khamenei's body lying in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla complex on July 4 and 5, with a public holiday declared in the capital. A main funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for July 6. The ceremonies will then move to the holy city of Qom on July 7. At the request of Iraqi religious and political figures, funeral rites are also planned for...