Indian dignitaries attend Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral; Salman Khurshid, Mehbooba Mufti among delegation

An Indian delegation led by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita on Friday paid tribute to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran ahead of the start of his multi-day state funeral.

The delegation also included Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain. Both leaders offered floral tributes and conveyed India's condolences during ceremonies attended by dignitaries from across the world.

Thousands gathered in Tehran for the tribute and farewell ceremony as the procession carrying Khamenei's body arrived at the ceremony venue. Iran has organised an elaborate state funeral, with senior representatives from around 100 countries expected to participate.

Months after Khamenei was killed at the start of the war with the United States and Israel on February 28, Iran is set to hold a days-long funeral and burial ceremony beginning on Saturday in Tehran. The funeral, delayed while the war continued, will take his body through several cities in Iran and neighbouring Iraq before his burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

The ceremonies are expected to test Iran's theocratic establishment and its ability to draw large crowds, particularly months after a security crackdown on nationwide protests against Khamenei's rule. Authorities are expected to encourage government employees, supporters and paramilitary forces to participate in large numbers, while the uneasy ceasefire and interim agreement with the United States have provided the government an opportunity to hold the funeral.

It remains unclear whether Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will make his first public appearance during the ceremonies. The younger Khamenei, believed to have been injured in the attack that killed his father, has largely remained out of public view.

According to the official schedule, Khamenei's body will lie in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, it will be taken through the streets of Tehran before being moved to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the body will be taken to Karbala in Iraq, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, before returning to Iran for burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

The Imam Reza shrine, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, attracts millions of pilgrims every year and is also the burial place of several prominent Shiite clerics, including former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024.

Authorities are also taking extensive security measures, with concerns over crowd management during the funeral. Iran has witnessed deadly stampedes at the funerals of prominent leaders in the past, including Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 and Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.