PM Shehbaz leaves for Iran to attend Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left for Iran on Friday to attend the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

The prime minister is being accompanied by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyer Bukhari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

In a statement shared on X, the PMO said the premier would offer condolences to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved families and reiterate Pakistan’s full support for the Iranian people during what it described as a time of mourning. The PMO also said that after concluding his Iran visit, the prime minister would travel onward to Turkiye.

Earlier, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani reached Tehran with a high-level delegation to take part in the funeral prayers and burial. Iranian officials received the Pakistani delegation on arrival in the Iranian capital.

Funeral arrangements

The funeral is also expected to draw leaders from several other countries, including Afghanistan, India and Russia. The ceremonies are set to move through multiple locations, beginning in Tehran and then continuing to the holy cities of Qom, Karbala, Najaf and finally Mashhad, reflecting the religious, political and ideological foundations of the Islamic republic.

Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike on February 28. The conflict began with strikes by the United States and Israel that also killed members of his family, including his daughter, grandchild, son-in-law and daughter-in-law. Among other senior Iranian figures killed in the strikes was Ali Shamkhani, identified as an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader.

The funeral, which had initially been delayed during the height of the Middle East war, is taking place as Iran and the United States maintain a fragile ceasefire after signing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding aimed at halting the conflict.

Khamenei’s public funeral will begin on Saturday, with his body to lie in state at the large complex in central Tehran used for major Friday prayers, official ceremonies and religious gatherings.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a large public turnout at the funeral of the late supreme leader would amount to a decisive response to terrorism, violence and bullying, while also showing national unity.