The Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili traveled to Tehran to attend the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As part of his visit, Kavelashvili met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on July 3, while a video from Tehran shows him paying his respects in a funeral ceremony as Khamenei lay in state in a hall.
“As part of my Tehran visit, I attended the funeral ceremony of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei together with leaders from various countries of the region and the world,” Kavelashvili said in a statement on July 3, noting that during his meeting with Pezeshkian, he “once again extended condolences over the tragic events that took place in Iran and paid respect to the memory of the deceased.”
He also said that during the meeting, he noted that Georgia “supports all efforts aimed at achieving peace, stability, and de-escalation in the region” and thanked Pezeshkian for his support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that Tbilisi-Tehran relations “are based on respect and consideration of national interests.”
“I am confident that cooperation based on good neighborly relations will continue to promote the development of relations between our countries and a stable and peaceful future for our region,” Kavelashvili said.
Leaders and delegations from neighboring countries, including Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, and senior Azerbaijani government officials, including Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova, have also been reported to have arrived in Tehran for Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the outset of the war in the Middle East on February 28. According to Iran’s WANA news agency, 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 his hometown of Mashhad on July 9.
Kavelashvili’s visit comes amid growing scrutiny of Tbilisi’s ties with Tehran against the backdrop of heightened 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.
The visit has also prompted renewed discussion about its potential implications for U.S.-Georgia relations. U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson has repeatedly accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of pursuing a pro-Iranian stance.
Reacting to Kavelashvili’s trip, Wilson wrote on X: “Dictator Khamenei’s funeral draws together all of the worst America haters from around the world, as the Georgian Dream’s fake President Mikheil Kavelashvili plans to attend to deepen the rabidly anti-American pact between Iran and the Georgian Dream.”
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