Medvedev to Lead Russian Delegation at Iranian Supreme Leader’s Funeral
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev will attend the state funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Kremlin confirmed Thursday, as long-delayed ceremonies begin Saturday.
Khamenei was killed at age 86 in a U.S.-Israeli strike on Feb. 28. He has been succeeded by his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in the same attack and has not appeared in public since. President Vladimir Putin denounced the killing as a "cynical assassination." The funeral processions will commence Saturday in Tehran and conclude on July 9. Khamenei will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies in Qom and neighboring Iraq. A separate event for foreign heads of state is scheduled for Friday, with representatives from around 30 countries expected. Iran’s ambassador in Moscow, Kazem Jalali, stated earlier this week that Medvedev would lead a Russian delegation comprising Foreign Ministry officials, as well as religious leaders from the Russian Orthodox Church and Sunni and Shiite theologians. The delegation’s trip takes place amid an indefinite suspension of commercial flights to and from Iran by Russian civil aviation authorities due to regional military tensions. Russia is one of Iran’s closest partners and has repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic as an "unprovoked act of armed aggression." In 2025, Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership agreement that includes provisions for countering shared threats. However, that pact stops short of mutual defense obligations, unlike the security agreement Russia has with North Korea.
