US and Western Nations Absent from Khamenei's Funeral

Representatives from 100 countries are expected to attend the funeral ceremony of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, the United States and several Western nations are not present at the event. Khamenei died at the age of 86 in a US-Israeli airstrike on his residential complex on 28 February. His funeral procession has just commenced and will last for six days. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated in an interview with state television IRIB TV that delegations from 110 countries are expected to attend Khamenei’s funeral. Notable attendees include Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili. Turkey is represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, while India has sent a deputy foreign minister and a state governor. China dispatched senior politician He Wei, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Russia is represented by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and prime minister. The Taliban government in Afghanistan sent Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Bangladesh is represented by Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed. Qatar and Saudi Arabia also sent delegations, with the Saudi delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al-Khuraiji. Indonesia was represented by its Ambassador to Tehran, Rolliansyah Soemirat.