Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is being laid to rest this week in one of the biggest state funerals the country has ever held. The guest list tells its own story not just about Iran, but about India too.
Khamenei was killed at age 86 in a joint United States-Israeli air strike on his compound on February 28, the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran. His burial was originally planned for March, but was delayed as the war dragged on.
Ceremonies began on July 3, when Khamenei’s body arrived in Tehran and foreign delegations started paying tribute. The formal state funeral then runs from July 4 to 9, with rites also taking place in Iraq, before the body returns for burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad the city where Khamenei was born.
More than 100 countries are expected to send representatives, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. Some names on that list explain a lot about current global politics.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is attending in person. That’s notable because Pakistan has played a central role in mediating between the US and Iran, helping secure the ceasefire in April and a June memorandum that’s now the basis for ongoing negotiations. China sent senior lawmaker He Wei, a vice chairperson of its parliament’s Standing Committee. Russia is represented by Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president now serving as Security Council deputy chairman.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government sent Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Smaller neighbours like Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia are sending their own heads of state or government.
One absence stands out. Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, will not attend. His representative in India confirmed this was due to security concerns, following an Israeli threat to assassinate him. He hasn’t appeared in public since the war began, and questions about his condition remain unanswered.
This is where things get interesting for Indian readers. India isn’t sending one delegation it’s effectively sending two, from opposite ends of the political spectrum, and both were invited directly by Iran.
The official government delegation is led by Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita. Separately, Iran also invited opposition figures, including former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who heads the party’s foreign affairs department. Congress MP Pawan Khera also travelled as part of the delegation.
The invite list didn’t stop there. It also included BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and several political and religious leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, such as National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi. Notably, Mufti became the only non-Shia politician from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to receive an invitation from Iran.
Why would Iran invite India’s ruling party and opposition separately? Part of the answer is optics. Khamenei holds deep religious significance for Shia Muslims worldwide, and India has a sizable Shia population, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. Inviting leaders across party lines lets Iran signal that this isn’t a purely political gesture and it lets Indian leaders, government and opposition alike, pay respects without one side looking like it’s speaking for the whole country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself received a personal invitation from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He’s unlikely to attend in person because of scheduled visits to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand from July 6 to 11. He did speak to Pezeshkian by phone to convey condolences instead.
Getting there wasn’t simple either. With commercial flights to Iran suspended because of the war, Tehran arranged a special Mahan Air flight to fly foreign guests in. Mufti and Khurshid flew out from New Delhi to join it.
The bigger picture matters too. Talks on the memorandum aimed at formally ending the US-Iran conflict have been paused until after the funeral. Iranian military commander Ali Abdollahi warned the US and Israel against any strikes during the ceremonies, promising harsh retaliation for any aggression.
In other words, this funeral isn’t just about mourning. It’s happening inside a fragile ceasefire, with the whole region watching to see if it holds. For India, walking a careful line between the US, Israel, and Iran has been a long-standing balancing act. Sending representatives from across the political spectrum to Khamenei’s funeral is one more example of that same instinct being present, without picking a side too visibly.
Subscribe Deshwale on YouTube
