“It pleases Iran to have received representatives from more than seventy countries who chose to participate in honoring our martyred Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, among them our loyal Arab brothers,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an Arabic-language post on X on Saturday. “This historic commemoration will remain an eternal memory in the course of our shared relations."
The foreign minister’s message came as the second day of the week-long funeral ceremonies concluded at Tehran’s Grand Prayer Grounds, with millions of mourners and high-ranking foreign dignitaries paying respect to the martyred Leader.
The ceremonies, which began on July 3 and will continue until July 9, have drawn heads of state, prime ministers, parliament speakers, foreign ministers, and special envoys from across Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond.
Among the foreign dignitaries attending were Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and a senior Chinese representative.
Delegations also arrived from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Palestine, and dozens of other nations.
Regional leaders and representatives from neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, were prominently present, according to Press TV.
The massive international turnout came despite an intensive US campaign to dissuade countries from attending.
MNA