NEW DELHI: Bihar governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain and Union minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita will attend the funeral ceremony of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on behalf of the Indian government, ANI reported citing Iranian sources.Iran had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral and burial ceremonies of Khamenei.The funeral ceremonies, scheduled from July 4 to July 9 across multiple Iranian cities, are expected to be attended by millions of mourners and several foreign dignitaries. The week-long observances will begin in Tehran and conclude with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad, his birthplace and one of Shia Islam’s holiest cities. Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28. According to Iranian authorities, Khamenei’s body will lie in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla complex on July 4 and 5, allowing the public to pay their final respects. A state funeral procession is scheduled for July 6, with public holidays declared across Tehran province during the official mourning period.
