Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili will attend the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the presidential administration confirmed to Civil.ge on June 30, following earlier reports by Iranian media about an invitation.
“Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, along with leaders of countries in the region, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and others, will attend the funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran,” the president’s administration said.
The confirmation follows the June 29 report by the Tehran-based West Asia News Agency (WANA), which said Kavelashvili was “expected to attend the funeral and burial ceremonies” with “an official delegation.” The report also said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, and representatives from Qatar and Pakistan are also expected to travel to Iran.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in U.S.-Israeli air strikes at the outset of the war in the Middle East on February 28. According to WANA, the funeral ceremonies will begin on July 4 at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, with funeral prayers scheduled for the morning of July 5. Following ceremonies in Tehran, Qom, and Iraq, Khamenei is expected to be buried in Mashhad, his hometown, on July 9.
Kavelashvili’s scheduled visit comes amid growing scrutiny of Tbilisi’s ties with Tehran amid tensions in the Middle East. On March 2, the Georgian Dream government extended condolences to both Iran and Israel, saying that “the ongoing hostilities have claimed the highest number of lives [in Iran], including the supreme leader, other political leaders, numerous innocent civilians, and dozens of children.”
On March 10, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze congratulated Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on his “election” as Iran’s new supreme leader.
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