Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the funeral ceremonies of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with New Delhi yet to decide whether to accept the invitation, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The invitation was sent by the Iranian side , according to sources aware of the development. The funeral ceremonies are scheduled to take place from 5 to 9 July.
Ayatollah Khamenei, along with his daughter, son-in-law and a grandchild, was killed in joint Israeli-US military strikes on 28 February. Although Islamic tradition generally calls for burial within 24 hours of death, the funeral was postponed several times because of the conflict in West Asia.
India had expressed its condolences following Khamenei’s death. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian Embassy and signed the condolence book on behalf of the Indian government. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
According to Iranian state media, the funeral rites will begin on 4 July and conclude with Khamenei’s burial in the holy city of Mashhad, his hometown in north-eastern Iran, on 9 July. Ceremonies are also planned in the holy city of Qom on 7 July.
Khamenei, who was 86, had served as Iran’s Supreme Leader for 36 years. His death on 28 February came on the opening day of Israeli and US airstrikes on Tehran, marking a major turning point in the conflict.
Questions over the timing of his funeral had persisted for months. While reports initially suggested a burial could take place in late June, Iranian state media later confirmed that the ceremonies would be held in July. Under Islamic law, burial is usually carried out as quickly as possible, though delays can occur during wartime or under exceptional circumstances.
Iranian authorities are expecting a huge turnout for the funeral ceremonies across Tehran, Mashhad and Qom. Reports suggest the combined attendance could reach nearly 20 million people. Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are also expected to attend. If those estimates prove accurate, the gathering could surpass the record turnout at the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic.
Since Khamenei’s death, his son, 56-year-old Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, has been serving as Iran’s Supreme Leader. However, speculation about his health and whereabouts has continued, with several senior US officials, including Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, claiming that he is in a coma.
The funeral comes at a time when tensions in West Asia have eased following a peace agreement between Iran and the United States after months of conflict that disrupted global energy markets. President Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump have signed separate digital memorandums of understanding, while broader peace negotiations between the two countries continue in Switzerland.
