Bihar Governor Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Syed Ata Hasnain and Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita will visit Iran on Friday to attend the funeral ceremony of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, late Supreme Leader of the Islamic nation.
“The high-level representation in the ceremony underscores the importance of civilisational ties, including people-to-people connection, between the two countries, providing a robust foundation to political and economic engagements,’’ the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Iran had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the funeral ceremony but the PM is scheduled to leave here next week on a three-nation tour of Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia.
Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on his Tehran compound on February 28, which marked the first day of the war. His funeral had to be delayed since the war was going on.
PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have spoken to Iranian leaders from time to time during Iran’s conflict with the US and Israel.
On Tuesday, the PM spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who briefed him on the latest developments in West Asia following the recent understanding reached to ease regional tensions.