PM Shehbaz leaves for Iran to attend Ayatollah Khamenei's funeral

The PM is leading a high-level delegation comprising National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-July 3rd, 2026) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed Islamabad on a one-day visit to Iran to attend the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the opening day of the recent conflict, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) confirmed on Friday.

The prime minister is leading a high-level delegation comprising National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

According to the PMO, Prime Minister Shehbaz will extend condolences to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved family on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan. He will also reaffirm Pakistan's solidarity with Iran during the visit.

Funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Khamenei are scheduled to begin in Tehran on July 4 and continue until July 9, when he will be laid to rest in his hometown of Mashhad. Additional memorial events are also planned in the holy city of Qom and in Iraq as part of the official mourning programme.

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Following the funeral in Tehran, the prime minister is expected to travel to Istanbul for a bilateral visit to Türkiye, where he is likely to hold meetings on matters of mutual interest and regional cooperation.

Meanwhile, Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has already arrived in Tehran with a separate high-level delegation to participate in the funeral prayers and burial ceremonies. The Pakistani delegation was received by senior Iranian officials upon arrival.

Iranian authorities have begun nationwide funeral observances, with large public gatherings expected over several days. State media reported that Ayatollah Khamenei's body had been brought to the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran ahead of the official ceremonies.

The death of Ayatollah Khamenei has marked a major turning point in Iran's political landscape. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has assumed the position of the country's third supreme leader following the conflict, although he has remained out of public view since reportedly sustaining injuries during the airstrikes that claimed his father's life.