Iran welcomes foreign leaders for Ayatollah Khameinei’s state funeral

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A stream of foreign dignitaries, officials and mourners gathered in Tehran on Friday to pay their respects to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28 that triggered the war.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran talks to end the war, joined mourners on the first day of the multiday funeral ceremonies for the slain Iranian leader.

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Leaders from countries across the globe, including Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Cuba and Serbia, were also present in Tehran to pay their respects.

Dmitri Medvedev, Russia’s former president and deputy chairman of its Security Council, is also expected to attend the ceremony Friday, according to the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov.

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The Iranian government praised the foreign officials for their “solidarity against recent US-Zionist aggressions” and referred to Khamenei as a “martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution,” seeking to portray the longtime supreme leader as a beloved and respected figure.

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Khamenei’s casket was surrounded by the coffins of his family members who were also killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to The New York Times and Iranian state media.

The ayatollah’s daughter, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law and his young granddaughter all died in the bombings. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was severely wounded in the attack. He was later named the next supreme leader, but remains in hiding.

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