Iran has begun a week of mourning for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose flag-draped casket was placed on public display in Tehran as the country opened a dayslong state funeral following his death in a joint US-Israeli strike earlier this year.
Khamenei, 86, was killed on the opening day of the US-Israel war on Iran, when his compound was hit in a strike that marked one of the most dramatic escalations of the conflict. Since then, a fragile process of ceasefire and negotiation has unfolded, with a memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June giving both sides a 60-day window to reach a broader deal to formally end the war. That clock is still running, and officials on both sides say talks have effectively been paused while Iran conducts the funeral.
Processions and religious rites are expected to continue for several days, running through cities in Iran and into parts of Iraq that hold religious significance for Iran’s Shia population. Millions of mourners are expected to take part over the course of the week, according to Iranian state media, in scenes that authorities are also using to project unity and continuity of leadership at a moment of acute vulnerability for the state.
Representatives from around 30 countries are expected to attend the funeral, including from China and from Iran’s neighbours in the Caucasus region. India has said its deputy foreign minister and a state governor will represent the country, a level of representation that reflects New Delhi’s effort to acknowledge the funeral without appearing to take sides in the broader war.
Pakistan has played a central mediating role between Washington and Tehran, having helped broker the ceasefire earlier this year and the subsequent memorandum of understanding that is now the basis for wider talks. Diplomats involved in the process say the coming days will be a test of whether the pause in talks around the funeral holds, or whether the succession question inside Iran, still unresolved as mourning continues, ends up complicating the already difficult path toward a final settlement.
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