Salman Khurshid to Represent Congress at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's State Funeral

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday announced that he will represent the party at the state funeral of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Speaking to ANI, Khurshid said, "I am representing the party and will attend the state funeral ceremony of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei." His remarks came a day after Tehran sent invitations to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Khurshid, and Rajya Sabha MP-elect Pawan Khera. Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike in Tehran in late February. He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Tehran had also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Khamenei's funeral. However, New Delhi chose Bihar governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) and Union minister Pabitra Margherita to represent India. On June 3, Iranian authorities announced plans to conduct a three-day public funeral for Khamenei. According to state media, the multi-day funeral ceremonies are scheduled to begin on July 4. The rituals will include events in Qom, a holy city south of capital Tehran, on July 7, and will conclude with his final burial on July 9 in his hometown, the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran. While Islamic jurisprudence typically dictates that a deceased person be buried as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours, exceptions are permissible, particularly during a state of war. Since February 28, Iran has been at a war with the United States and Israel. Speculation regarding the timeline of the final ceremonies had been mounting since February, with early reports suggesting a late June date before state media officially confirmed the July schedule.