Iran President invites PM Modi for Khamenei's funeral

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the funeral ceremony of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, people familiar with the matter told HT on Wednesday.

The funeral ceremonies will be held from July 5 to 9. The Indian side is yet to take a call on the invitation.

The invitation was sent to the prime minister from the Iranian side on Tuesday, said people aware of the matter, adding that the Indian side is yet to decide.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his daughter, son-in-law and a grandchild died in joint Israel-US military strikes on February 28. While the dead are to buried within 24 hours of death, according to Islamic laws, Khamenei's funeral was postponed several times due to the was in West Asia.

India had condoled the killing of the Iranian leader, with foreign secretary Vikram Misri visiting the Iranian embassy and signing the condolence book on behalf of the government. External affairs minister S Jaishankar also spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.