New Delhi: India will send a high level delegation to Iran to attend the funeral of the country’s late Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei. Bihar Governor Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita will travel to Iran on July 3, 2026, to represent India at the funeral proceedings.
The government has decided to send the delegation to the funeral ceremony as a mark of India’s ties with Iran. The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit reflects the civilisational relationship and deep people to people connect between India and Iran. The ministry noted that these historical and cultural links form a strong foundation for political and economic cooperation between the two nations. Through this visit, India has also underlined the importance it attaches to its traditional and friendly relations with Iran.
There had earlier been reports suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also been invited for the funeral, though the Iranian side did not confirm any invitation extended to a foreign head of state or government.
According to Iranian officials, Ayatollah Khamenei’s body will be kept at the Grand Musalla complex in Tehran on July 4 and 5 to allow the public to pay their last respects. This will be followed by a state funeral procession on July 6. The Iranian government has also announced a public holiday in Tehran province during the mourning period. The funeral process will conclude with the burial in Mashhad on July 9.
Diplomatic engagement between the two countries has remained steady in recent months. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited India recently and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Following Khamenei’s death, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in New Delhi to sign the condolence book. Contact between the top leadership of both countries had also continued during the recent conflict in West Asia.
The visit by the Bihar Governor and the Minister of State comes at a sensitive juncture for Iran, as the country transitions to new leadership following Khamenei’s death.