WATCH: Iran’s top leaders, including Ghalibaf, break down as week-long funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei begins
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi became emotional at a farewell ceremony for former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday, as the country begins a week-long mourning period for the late leader. The solemn ceremony in Tehran’s Grand Mosala marked the beginning of the widespread funeral for Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli attack on February 28 this year. Speaker Ghalibaf was visibly crying as Araghchi stood next to him and paid tribute.According to Press TV, the ceremony attracted senior Iranian officials, heads of state and high-level delegations from around the world. The meeting was attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Justice Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei and Chairman of the Expediency Committee Ayatollah Sadek Amory Larijani.Indian Foreign Minister Pabhitra Margarita and Bihar Governor Lieutenant General Syed Atta Hasnan expressed their condolences on behalf of India. The Iranian Embassy in India also acknowledged the attendance of several Indian politicians, including Peoples Democratic Party Chairman Mehbooba Mufti and Congress leader Salman Khurshid. Foreign dignitaries include Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Russian Security Council Vice Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, as well as representatives from dozens of other countries.Officials estimate that 15 to 20 million mourners will attend the multi-day funeral. The body will lie in state in Tehran’s Grand Mosala before a funeral procession through the capital on Monday. Final rites will continue in Qom, Baghdad, Karbala and Najaf before Khamenei will be laid to rest in Mashhad on July 9.
