Saudi Delegation Pays Last Respects to Khamenei at Funeral

A number of foreign officials, dignitaries, and mourners gathered in Tehran on Friday to pay their final respects to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian leader was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on 28 February, which sparked a war with Iran. Among the delegations present were officials from Saudi Arabia. Despite the often fluctuating relationship with Iran, Riyadh dispatched a delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed El Khereiji. The Saudi delegation joined in paying their last respects to the late Iranian Supreme Leader, with six members walking slowly into the cooling chamber. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in US-Iran talks to end the war, also joined mourners on the first day of the multi-day funeral ceremony. Pakistan’s interior minister also arrived in Tehran. Leaders from various countries around the world—including Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Cuba, and Serbia—attended the ceremony in Tehran to pay their final respects. Former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev was also expected to attend the ceremony on Friday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Delegations from China, Namibia, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan met with the Iranian president in Tehran for the ceremony. An official delegation from India was also present, as was Turkmenistan’s National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. The Iranian government praised the foreign officials for their solidarity against recent US-Zionist aggression. Tehran referred to Khamenei as the ‘fallen Leader of the Islamic Revolution’ and described him as a beloved and respected figure. Several senior Iranian officials attended the Friday ceremony, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Iranian officials have been negotiating with the US to open the Strait of Hormuz and end hostilities in the region, which escalated after the US, Iran, and Israel launched a series of retaliatory strikes amid a fragile ceasefire agreement.