Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to multiple media reports.
The reported invitation comes at a sensitive geopolitical moment, with Tehran stepping up diplomatic outreach after the ceasefire that ended the recent Israel-Iran conflict. While there has been no official confirmation from New Delhi on whether Prime Minister Modi will attend, the development underscores the significance Iran attaches to its ties with India.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on his official compound in Tehran. State-run media confirmed his death on March 1, 2026. Following his assassination, his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was selected as his successor. Khamenei, Iran's longest-serving Supreme Leader, has remained the country's highest political and religious authority for decades, shaping Tehran's domestic and foreign policy.
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Iran has announced a four-day programme for the funeral and burial of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, marking the first official timeline released by authorities since his death.
According to a statement from the state-appointed headquarters overseeing the ceremonies, public tributes to Khamenei will begin on July 6 at Tehran's Mosalla and continue for two days. A funeral procession is scheduled in the holy city of Qom on July 7, followed by commemorative events in Iraq's Najaf and Karbala on July 8 at the request of local groups and officials.
Khamenei's body is set to be buried on July 9 at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.
The announcement also said the bodies of Mesbah-al-Hoda Bagheri, Seyyedeh Bushra Hosseini Khamenei, Zahra Haddad-Adel and Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani will be honoured alongside Khamenei during the ceremonies.
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Khamenei was killed during the opening phase of a joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran on Feb. 28, according to Iranian accounts. More than four months after his death, authorities have now formally outlined the schedule for his final rites.
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