Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday stated that the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei's wisdom, leadership, and profound influence on Iran and the wider region would be remembered for generations. In a post on X, PM Shehbaz expressed, 'The late supreme leader's wisdom, leadership and profound influence on Iran and the wider region will be remembered for generations.'
Khamenei Killed in Joint US-Israeli Air Strike
Ayatollah Khamenei was killed at the age of 86 on February 28 during a joint US-Israeli air strike in Tehran on his residence. His six-day funeral and memorial processions have drawn several world leaders to pay respect to the slain supreme leader. Funeral processions for Khamenei began today in Tehran and will conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq between these dates.
Pakistan's Solidarity with Iran
The prime minister, in his statement, said that he paid his respects and conveyed deepest condolences on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan to the Government and brotherly people of Iran at the funeral ceremony. While reaffirming Islamabad's solidarity with the Iranian people, PM Shehbaz said, 'As a brotherly neighbour, Pakistan stands with Iran in this time of grief.'
'To demonstrate our solidarity with the Iranian people, I was accompanied by a high powered delegation including DPM Ishaq Dar, CDF & COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir and senior parliamentarians, including Chairman Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq,' he added.
Massive Funeral Rites Underway
Khamenei's coffin was unveiled late on Thursday to a throng of sobbing supporters, swaying and beating their heads in time to a sung lament as flowers were thrown from the bier into the crowd. On Friday, the coffin — and those of family members killed with him — were laid in state in the great prayer hall built to honour his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Critical Moment for the Islamic Republic
The funeral comes at a critical moment for Iran, where the clerical rulers backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are riding high from surviving what they saw as an existential war against their greatest and most powerful foes. But nearly five decades after the 1979 revolution, and for all the official proclamations of national unity in the run-up to Khamenei's funeral, the Islamic Republic has rarely been so internally fractured.
Tehran streets were tightly controlled, with military and police vehicles lining the major roads and police and members of the black-shirted volunteer Basij paramilitary force patrolling on motorbikes. Iran warned the United States and Israel against any attacks during the funeral.
