Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Invites PM Modi To Attend Ayatollah Khamenei's State Funeral

 

New Delhi : Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has formally invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral and burial of its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in a US-Israel airstrike in February this year, reports said.

The supreme leader was killed along with top officials in an airstrike on February 28 triggering a protracted war between US-Israel and Iran. While reports said that Pezeshkian has formally invited PM Modi to the multi-day state funeral and burial of Khamenei, it was not immediately whether the PM will himself visit the country or send his representative to the event.

Khamenei's state funeral will begin on July 4 which will culminate with his burial at his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran on July 9.

 

The Iranian President's invitation to PM Modi to the supreme leader's state funeral comes close on the heels of the BRICS National Security Advisors' meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Ahead of the NSAs' meeting, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met and held discussions with Ghadir Nezami Pour, Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council for Defense Affairs. Following the 16th meeting of the NSAs of the BRICS members, Dr. Ghadir Nezamipour, Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, held a meeting with PM Modi on Tuesday evening in the national capital.

Meanwhile, India on Wednesday advised its citizens to continue avoiding all non-essential travel to Iran until further notice, despite recent improvements in the security situation.

 

In a communique issued in this regard, the Indian Embassy in Tehran said it has been closely monitoring the prevailing security situation in Iran and was issuing a revised advisory in light of recent positive developments and improvements in the overall situation.

 

"Notwithstanding the recent improvements, Indian nationals are advised to continue to avoid all non-essential travel to Iran until further notice," the mission said in its advisory - a copy of which was posted on social media platform 'X'.

The mission advised Indian citizens presently residing in Iran, as well as those who may be required to travel to the country for unavoidable reasons, to exercise a high degree of caution, remain vigilant at all times and maintain constant awareness. It urged them to closely follow local developments through credible sources of information and comply with instructions issued by local authorities.