Foreign Minister and MPR Speaker Scheduled to Attend Ayatollah Khamenei's Funeral

Foreign Minister Sugiono has announced that the Indonesian delegation attending the funeral ceremony of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will be led by himself alongside the Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR). “The plan is for the Indonesian Foreign Minister and the MPR Speaker to depart,” Sugiono stated in Jakarta on Monday (6/7). Sugiono explained that the delegation’s attendance is still pending confirmation from the Iranian government regarding the time and location of the procession accessible to representatives of friendly nations. “We plan to attend, but we are still awaiting a response on the time and place where we can join the funeral ceremony, as we understand there is a series of events related to the funeral,” he said. The minister noted that the government had initially designated the Indonesian Ambassador to Iran as the official representative. This decision was based on various technical considerations, including a packed schedule of state events at home. “We received notification or an invitation regarding the event, and at that time we stated that the Indonesian Ambassador in Iran would represent the government due to various technical considerations, as we were also preparing for state visits in Indonesia and key officials were unable to travel,” he continued. However, the government subsequently received information that Iranian authorities would only grant access to officials above the rank of ambassador. This situation made it impossible for Indonesia to send a replacement on short notice. “We received confirmation that Iran would only grant access to officials above ambassador level on the 2nd, so we were unable to send a replacement. After that, we continued to coordinate, and the funeral is scheduled for Thursday (9/7),” he said. Sugiono added that coordination with the Iranian government is ongoing, particularly regarding arrangements for receiving foreign delegations, which are affected by the large number of mourners attending the funeral proceedings. “From our ongoing communication, because the respect for him is immense and the crowds there are very large, the Iranian side is still trying to find a point or spot to receive these visits,” he explained. The Indonesian government is awaiting certainty from Iranian authorities regarding the mechanism and schedule for the delegation’s attendance in the funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.