Foreign dignitaries of varying seniority from China, India and Pakistan are among the foreign dignitaries attending the funeral of Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli attack in February.
Pakistan: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has emerged as a key intermediary between Iran and the United States, will visit Iran in the coming days to “express condolences” over the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Thursday.
China: He Wei, a senior official in the Chinese National Assembly and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress, China’s highest legislative body, will represent Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
India: According to India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Foreign Minister Pavitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain will attend the funeral.
Khamenei’s long-delayed funeral is an opportunity for the Iranian regime to emphasize diplomatic relations with other countries and demonstrate stability and unity within its borders.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said Iran was expecting “guests from around 100 countries, including heads of government, the speaker of parliament, the foreign minister, government envoys, other politicians and a number of official delegations.”
But few foreign leaders will attend, apart from Mr Sharif and Georgia’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili, who the semi-state news agency Tasnim said will attend. Most participating countries, including India and China, are sending senior officials in their place.
Two senior Taliban officials, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister and acting foreign minister, are also scheduled to visit Iran for the funeral.
