Speaker to attend Khamenei’s funeral

Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad and Bir Muktijoddha Maj (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed will travel to Iran to attend the funeral ceremonies of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is scheduled to depart from Dhaka for Iran on July 2.

Confirming the matter, BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said that the state funeral and funeral prayers for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be held from July 4 to 9 in Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. He added that Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed will represent the Government of Bangladesh and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the ceremonies.

According to sources, several members of the Jatiya Sangsad are also expected to travel to Iran on their own initiative to attend the funeral prayers.

Khamenei was reportedly killed in late February in airstrikes carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces. Iranian authorities expect nearly 20 million people to participate in the funeral and burial ceremonies, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

The official funeral ceremonies are scheduled to begin on July 4 in Tehran and Qom. Iran's Mehr News Agency, citing unnamed officials, reported that Khamenei will be laid to rest on July 9 in Mashhad, his birthplace in northeastern Iran.