Speaker back home after paying final tribute to Khamenei in Tehran

National Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram, returned to Dhaka after attending the state funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, where he represented Bangladesh and conveyed the nation's condolences.

The Speaker arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 11:00pm on Sunday night (July 5), concluding his four-day official visit to Iran.

Earlier on July 2, he had departed for Tehran to attend state funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the state funeral held at Tehran's Grand Mosalla, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed paid Bangladesh's official tribute to Ayatollah Khamenei and offered prayers for the late Iranian leader.

On the sidelines of the visit, the Speaker met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian officials, expressing sympathy on behalf of the government and people of Bangladesh over Khamenei's death.

He also praised Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf for his constructive role in implementing the recently signed Iran-US peace memorandum and extended a formal invitation for him to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.

Meanwhile, Iran on Monday continued nationwide mourning ceremonies, with Ayatollah Khamenei's coffin taken to Tehran's Azadi Square for a final public farewell expected to draw hundreds of thousands of mourners before the funeral procession moves to other cities.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was born in Mashhad on April 19, 1939, was killed on February 28 during the opening day of the Iran-US-Israel conflict. He was 86.