Iran has extended invitations to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to attend the state funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in a joint US-Israeli strike on the opening day of the conflict in February. Tehran has also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the ceremony scheduled for next week, although he is expected to decline and instead send a senior Indian delegation.
According to sources, Kharge has not yet decided whether he will attend the funeral. There is also a possibility that the Congress may send a delegation headed by a senior party leader. The funeral ceremonies are set to begin in Tehran on July 4, while Khamenei, Iran’s longest-serving Supreme Leader, is expected to be cremated in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9.
Although his burial had originally been planned for March, it was postponed due to the ongoing conflict. While the United States and Iran reached an interim peace arrangement last month, tensions between the two countries remain fragile.
PM Modi Unlikely to Attend
Reports indicate that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian personally invited Prime Minister Modi to the funeral earlier this week. However, India is expected to be represented by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Bihar Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd). Both are members of the Shia community, which constitutes the majority population in Iran.
The decision has drawn criticism from opposition parties, which have alleged that the Prime Minister is avoiding attendance to prevent friction with the United States and Israel.
The government has not officially commented on the matter, though reports suggest that Modi is scheduled to undertake a multi-nation foreign tour during the same period.
Opposition leaders have also highlighted that India sent a significantly higher-level delegation, led by then Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, to attend the funeral of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in 2024. Raisi and former foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash.
The composition of the delegation for Khamenei’s funeral has prompted questions from critics about whether India’s approach towards Iran is undergoing a shift.
Geopolitical analyst and author Navroop Singh criticised the decision, arguing that sending a state governor reflected a lack of seriousness in strengthening ties with Iran. He suggested that India’s growing alignment with Israel and the UAE appeared more evident and questioned the prioritisation of the Ministry of External Affairs.
