State funeral held in Tehran for Khamenei killed in February 28 airstrikes

TEHRAN, Iran — A state funeral was held in the Iranian capital on Saturday for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on February 28. His body and the remains of family members who died in the same attacks were brought to Musalla-e Kabir in Tehran and opened to the public before official mourning ceremonies scheduled to continue into the coming week. The funeral brought together heads of state and senior officials from Asia and Europe, along with religious delegations from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Thailand. The vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China also arrived in Tehran for the ceremony. Iraqi President Nazar Amidi, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Hibet al-Halbusi attended the events in the capital and held separate meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf told his Chinese counterpart that strengthening Iran-China relations would contribute to reducing global tensions, according to Iranian state media. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir would join the ceremonies as part of a separate delegation. Also in attendance were Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Officials said the mourning period will include public processions and commemorative events in several Iranian cities in the coming days.