Bihar Governor, MoS Margherita to represent India at funeral ceremony of Ali Khamenei in Iran

New Delhi (Vivek Ojha) : The invitation from Iran for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has presented New Delhi with a diplomatic dilemma but India's diplomatic move is going on and recently it has been decided that Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita will attend the funeral ceremony of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on behalf of the Indian government, according to reports citing Iranian sources. Iran had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral.

The ceremonies will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on July 9.Iran’s President Massoud Pezeshkian has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to travel to Tehran to attend the burial ceremonies of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who was assassinated in joint Israel-U.S. attack on February 28, diplomatic sources have told.

The sources said the invite for Mr. Modi was conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) though the MEA officials did not clarify whether Mr. Modi would travel for the funeral which will be held between July 3 and 9 and cover multiple cities such as Tehran, Qom and Mashhad.Iran has announced that the burial ceremonies for the Supreme Leader will take place in Tehran and Qom on July 5, 6 and 7 while the final burial ceremony will take place in the city of Mashhad on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

Mr. Modi is expected to visit Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand between July 6 and 11 and there is no official communication on whether the Prime Minister would visit for the official burial of the late Ayatollah.

Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar had represented India in the official burial ceremony of Iran’s then President Ibrahim Raisi who had died in a helicopter crash on May 19, 2024. Mr. Modi had visited the United Arab Emirates on May 15 and before that he had visited Israel during February 25-26.