New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Bihar Governor Lieutenant General (Retired) Syed Ata Hasnain and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita will visit Iran on Friday to attend the funeral ceremony of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Khamenei was killed in an epochal attack by the US and Israel on February 28, marking an inflexion point in the 46-year Shia-theocratic rule. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was selected as Iran’s new Supreme Leader in March.

“The high-level representation in the ceremony underscores the importance of civilizational ties, including people-to-people connection, between the two countries, providing a robust foundation to political and economic engagements,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is set to begin in Tehran on July 4, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

Farewell ceremonies will be held at Imam Khomeini’s Mosalla prayer hall in Tehran on July 4-5, followed by funeral procession ceremony in Tehran on July 6. Another funeral procession ceremony will take place in Iran’s Qom city on July 7.

The final funeral ceremony will be held in Mashhad on July 9, followed by burial at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), Tasnim News Agency reported.

On March 5, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, on behalf of the Government of India, signed the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi and offered condolences on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Misri met Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali and offered condolences over the demise of Khamenei.

“Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri visited the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and signed the condolence book, on behalf of the people and the Government of India, on the demise of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

–IANS

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