The funeral proceedings are scheduled to begin on July 4, with commemorative events stretching from Qom to a final burial in Mashhad on July 9. Despite Islamic traditions favoring immediate interment, authorities have invoked wartime exceptions to accommodate the logistical scale of the ceremony. Organizers anticipate an attendance of 20 million people, a figure that would double the turnout recorded during the 1989 burial of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
International interest remains high, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif among the confirmed high-profile attendees. The invitation to New Delhi arrives during a period of intense diplomatic maneuvering, underscored by recent peace negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Following the appointment of Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader on March 8, these talks—facilitated by agreements between Presidents Pezeshkian and Trump in Switzerland—suggest a potential recalibration of regional power structures.
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