Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Defence Forces and Army Staff, paid their respects on Friday to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US‑Israeli strike on February 28.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office noted that Shehbaz attended the funeral and offered a “rich tribute” to the slain leader.
He also expressed solidarity with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the Iranian people during their time of “national grief.” After the ceremony, he departed for Istanbul to continue his visit to Türkiye.
CDF Munir then returned to Pakistan after the ceremony, according to PTV. He was seen off by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and other senior Iranian officials.
Khamenei’s body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of the funeral. Besides Shehbaz and Munir, other foreign dignitaries, clerics, officials and mourners paid their respects while the body lay in state in the large hall.
Photos showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, draped with Iran’s tricolour flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the Islamic Republic’s key ceremonial venues.
Other images depict crowds dressed in black at a pre‑funeral ceremony, with the coffin placed before a backdrop of red flowers and white butterflies suspended in the air.
Ahmad Vahidi, head of the Revolutionary Guards—the ideological arm of the military—made his first public appearance since the February war began, paying his respects at the coffin, according to Iranian media footage.
He will lie in state for three days at the sprawling Grand Mosalla, now adorned with banners displaying images and quotations of Khamenei.
Millions of mourners and a contingent of foreign dignitaries are expected to attend Saturday’s official ceremony for Khamenei. Representatives from about 30 countries are anticipated, with many arriving from neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bodies of his slain relatives will also be present.
Multi-city commemorations
The funeral procession for the supreme leader will travel through several locations—from the seat of power in Tehran to the holy cities of Qom, Karbala, Najaf, and finally Mashhad—reflecting the religious, political, and ideological pillars of the Islamic Republic.
Although his funeral was initially delayed amid the height of the Middle East war, it is now proceeding as Iran and the United States maintain a fragile ceasefire following the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end hostilities.
The United States and Israel launched their campaign against Iran with strikes that killed the supreme leader and members of his family—his daughter, grandchild, son‑in‑law, and daughter‑in‑law. Several senior Iranian military commanders, including Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, were also assassinated in those strikes.
His public funeral will commence on Saturday, with his body lying in state at the vast complex in central Tehran that hosts major Friday prayers, official ceremonies, and religious gatherings.
After the Tehran ceremonies, Khamenei’s body will be transported to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala, and then buried on July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace in northeastern Iran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a massive public turnout at the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would constitute a “decisive” response to terrorism, violence, and bullying, while demonstrating national unity, according to state broadcaster Press TV.
Who is attending from Pakistan?
Prime Minister Shehbaz and CDF Munir arrived in Tehran separately earlier today.
CDF Munir was greeted by Iranian officials and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who was already in Tehran, according to an X post by PTV News.
A post on the Prime Minister’s Office’s X account said the premier was welcomed at Mehrabad Airport by Iran’s interior minister, Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran, and senior diplomatic officials from both Pakistan and Iran.
The post noted that the premier was on a one‑day visit to Iran to take part in Khamenei’s funeral rites, adding: “The prime minister will express heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Pakistani people and government to the Iranian leadership and bereaved families, and reaffirm Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the brotherly Iranian nation in this hour of grief.”
Accompanying the premier are National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyer Bukhari, and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the Prime Minister’s Office said as he departed for Tehran.
The PMO added that after concluding his Iran visit, the premier will continue on to Türkiye.
Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani also arrived in Tehran earlier today with a high‑level delegation to attend the funeral prayers and burial, as reported by state‑run Pakistan Television (PTV). Iranian officials welcomed the delegation upon its arrival.
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