Iran hails participation of representatives from over 70 countries in martyred Leader’s funeral

Iran hails participation of representatives from more than 70 countries in funeral ceremonies held for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

“It pleases Iran to have received representatives from more than seventy countries who chose to participate in honoring our martyred Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, among them our loyal Arab brothers,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an Arabic-language post on X on Saturday. “This historic commemoration will remain an eternal memory in the course of our shared relations."

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The foreign minister’s message came as the second day of the week-long funeral ceremonies concluded at Tehran’s Grand Prayer Grounds, with millions of mourners and high-ranking foreign dignitaries paying respect to the martyred Leader.

The ceremonies, which began on July 3 and will continue until July 9, have drawn heads of state, prime ministers, parliament speakers, foreign ministers, and special envoys from across Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond.

Among the foreign dignitaries attending were Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and a senior Chinese representative.

Delegations also arrived from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine, and dozens of other nations.

Regional leaders and representatives from neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, were prominently present.

The massive international turnout came despite an intensive US campaign to dissuade countries from attending.

US launched global pressure campaign to deter nations from attending Leader's funeral: Report

Two Arab diplomats confirmed that Rubio personally contacted his counterparts in at least five Arab countries to press them to stay away.

According to a senior Iranian source, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had issued a confidential directive on June 26, instructing all US embassies to pressure host countries not to participate, warning that attendance would be considered “an unfriendly act” with negative consequences for bilateral relations.

Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred following the launch of the latest bout of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against Iran on February 28.

The aggression that also claimed the lives of senior officials and countless ordinary civilians, triggered Iran to respond by staging at least 100 decisive and successful retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets. The reprisal prompted the United States to announce a unilateral ceasefire on April 7.

The funeral ceremonies began on July 3 at the prayer grounds.

On July 4 and 5, the body of the martyred Leader was to lie in state at the venue for public tribute.

On July 7, a ceremony will be held in the north-central Iranian holy city of Qom, followed by the transfer of the body to Iraq for further rites.

The burial is scheduled for July 9 at the holy shrine of the eighth Shia Imam, Imam Reza (AS) in the holy city of Mashhad.

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