NEW DELHI: Iran on Wednesday invited Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leaders Salman Khurshid and Pawan Khera to attend the burial ceremonies of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes in February, reported news agency PTI , citing sources.Tehran had also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Khamenei’s funeral. However, New Delhi chose Bihar governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) and minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita to represent India at the multi-day funeral, which is set to begin on July 4.Despite Western sanctions, India has maintained ties with Iran, which provides India crucial access to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan, as well as to Central Asia and Eurasia through the Chabahar Port and the International North-South Transport Corridor.India’s participation in the funeral builds on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the West Asia conflict that India remains a friend of Iran. Ali Hosseini Khamenei’s successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, was also reported to have thanked Prime Minister Modi for his Eid al-Adha greetings earlier and expressed confidence that India-Iran relations would continue to deepen.“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I have received Your Excellency’s message of congratulations on the occasion of the blessed Eid al-Adha. While expressing my sincere appreciation and extending my reciprocal congratulations, I am confident that the historic friendship between our two countries, founded on mutual respect and shared interests, will continue to be further strengthened and expanded through the efforts of our two governments,” Mojtaba said, according to ANI.
