Thu, September 17, 2026
Tehran (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, visited Tehran on Friday to pay their final respects to Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on February 28.
Khamenei’s remains were brought to Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where a large number of foreign leaders, government officials, religious scholars and mourners gathered to honour him before the funeral.
Prime Minister Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir joined the solemn ceremony alongside other international dignitaries.
The prime minister led a high-level delegation that included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, COAS and CDF Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other senior government officials, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
On this solemn occasion, the prime minister recalled the lasting contributions of the late Supreme Leader for Islam. He paid rich tribute to the late Supreme Leader, who guided the Iranian nation for decades, with remarkable wisdom and sagacity.
PM Shehbaz expressed full solidarity with Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian and the brotherly people of Iran in this moment of national grief and prayed to Allah Almighty for forgiveness of the departed leader.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary delegation led by Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Parliamentarians and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah also attended the funeral along with the prime minister.
After attending the ceremony, PM Shehbaz, who had arrived in Tehran earlier that day, departed for Istanbul for his official visit to Turkiye.
Earlier in the day, PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Asim Munir reached Tehran separately on Friday.
The COAS was welcomed by Iranian officials and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who had arrived in the Iranian capital before him.
Photographs and footages from the venue showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, covered with Iran’s national flag, into the Grand Mosalla, one of the country’s most prominent religious and ceremonial sites.
Additional images captured thousands of people dressed in black as the coffin was placed before a backdrop decorated with red flowers and white butterflies suspended overhead.
Iranian media also showed Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, making his first public appearance since the war began in February.
He was seen offering prayers and paying tribute beside Khamenei’s coffin.
The late leader’s body will remain at the Grand Mosalla for three days, with the sprawling complex adorned with banners displaying his portraits and selected quotations as mourners continue to arrive.
Millions are expected to attend Saturday’s official funeral, including delegations from nearly 30 countries. Large numbers of mourners have also travelled from neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan.
The bodies of Khamenei’s relatives, who were killed in the same attacks, will also be part of the funeral ceremonies.
The funeral procession will travel through several locations of deep religious and political significance, beginning in Tehran before moving to Qom, Karbala, Najaf and eventually Mashhad, reflecting the ideological and spiritual foundations of the Islamic Republic.
The funeral, postponed during the peak of the Middle East conflict, is now taking place as Iran and the United States continue to observe a fragile ceasefire following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding aimed at ending hostilities.
According to Iran, the war began with US and Israeli strikes that killed Khamenei along with members of his family, including his daughter, grandchild, son-in-law and daughter-in-law.
The attacks also claimed the lives of several senior Iranian military officials, among them Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to the supreme leader.
The public funeral will officially commence on Saturday in central Tehran. After the ceremonies conclude there, Khamenei’s body will be taken to the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala before being laid to rest on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, the city where he was born.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the overwhelming public participation expected at the funeral would deliver a firm message against terrorism, violence and intimidation while demonstrating the unity and resilience of the Iranian nation, according to state broadcaster Press TV.
Neo News | Copyright © 2026
