Quranic Verse Choice During Saudi Delegation's Attendance at Khamenei's Funeral Draws Attention
Saudi Arabia was among the nations sending a delegation to the funeral procession of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The choice of Quranic verse recited as the Saudi delegation paid their respects has become a talking point on social media. Khamenei died at the age of 86 in a United States-Israeli airstrike on his residential compound on 28 February. His funeral procession has commenced and will last for six days.
According to Al-Jazeera and Xinhua, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that delegations from 110 countries were expected to attend Khamenei’s funeral. He made the remarks during an interview with state broadcaster IRIB TV. The United States and several Western countries, however, did not attend the funeral procession.
Among the nations sending heads of state or delegations were Pakistan, represented by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif; Tajikistan, represented by President Emomali Rahmon; and Armenia, represented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Georgia’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili also confirmed his attendance. Turkey was represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, while India sent a deputy foreign minister and a state governor. Senior Chinese politician He Wei, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, attended, as did Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev. The Taliban government’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to Tehran, and Bangladesh’s Speaker of Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmed was also scheduled to attend. Qatar and Saudi Arabia sent delegations, with the Saudi delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al-Khuraiji. Indonesia was represented by its Ambassador to Tehran, Rolliansyah Soemirat.
The Saudi delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al-Khuraiji, paid their final respects before Ali Khamenei’s coffin on Friday. Al-Khuraiji’s presence was unexpected, particularly as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had urged Iran in March to ‘recalculate’ its strategy following repeated retaliatory attacks on US bases in the kingdom. Prince Faisal stated that tolerance for attacks on Gulf states was limited.
The presence of the Saudi delegation also drew attention due to the Quranic verse arranged by the Iranian side. Iranian officials organised the recitation of a verse referring to the two armies that met at the seventh-century Battle of Badr. The verse recited by the Iranian Qari was QS 3:13, or Al Imran verse 13. The translation of the verse reads: ‘Indeed, there was a sign for you in the two armies that met. One fought in the cause of Allah, and the other was disbelieving. They saw them with their own eyes twice their number. But Allah supports with His victory whom He wills. Surely in this is a lesson for those with insight.’ The choice of this verse became a talking point among netizens, with videos of the moment going viral on various social media platforms accompanied by narratives suggesting Iran was sending a reminder to Saudi Arabia.