Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to Attend Funeral of Slain Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the funeral of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this week, the South Asian nation’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday (July 2, 2026).
Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters that Sharif would travel to Iran and Turkey from July 3-5. He will first go to Iran for the supreme leader's funeral, Andrabi said.
Khamenei, 86, was killed in February during U.S.-Israeli strikes in Tehran, escalating regional tensions. Pakistan, along with Qatar, has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran to end the conflict. Andrabi reiterated that talks in Doha this week had made progress, and another meeting could take place after the funeral.
The public funeral will begin on Saturday (July 4, 2026), with Khamenei's body lying in state at the Mosalla complex in central Tehran, a site that hosts major Friday prayers and religious gatherings.
Pakistan shares deep historic ties with Iran. The two countries share a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border and strong cultural links. Sunni-majority Pakistan is home to the world’s second-largest Shia population after Iran.
Sharif’s trip to Turkey will involve meetings with Turkish leadership and businesspeople, Andrabi added.
