The Iranian embassy in Moscow announced that former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, currently deputy chairman of the Security Council, will travel to Tehran as President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to attend the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The announcement follows earlier reports that Medvedev would represent Russia.
The Iranian embassy in Moscow officially confirmed Wednesday evening that former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev will attend the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as President Vladimir Putin's special envoy. The announcement, posted on the embassy's the source, corroborates earlier reports that were based solely on an Israeli intelligence channel — which The Zioneer first relayed at 08:08 Wednesday morning. At that time, the desk reported that Medvedev would travel to Tehran as Putin's envoy; the embassy's statement now provides on-record confirmation from Moscow.
The thread on the Khamenei funeral has evolved rapidly today. At 08:08 Jerusalem, The Zioneer published multiple updates: the Tehran governor announced the farewell ceremony would begin Saturday at 06:00 Jerusalem; a separate bulletin reported the multi-city ceremony would run from July 4–9 at Tehran's Grand Mosallah; and an additional dispatch described Iran's agriculture ministry allocating tens of tons of food staples for the event. The confirmation of Medvedev's role — from a single Israeli intelligence channel this morning to official Iranian diplomatic confirmation tonight — marks a notable strengthening of source reliability. Earlier Wednesday, another The Zioneer background item noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also expected to attend, though that report remains based on a single source.
As The Zioneer reported on June 10, Iran's vice president said neighboring countries have requested to send over one million mourners; the scale of foreign delegations is broad, with India having dispatched a special delegation on Wednesday afternoon. The funeral's precise date and full program have not yet been announced by Iranian authorities. It also remains unconfirmed whether Lavrov will indeed travel to Tehran alongside or instead of Medvedev.
6 developments
- DevelopingRussian Foreign Minister Lavrov to attend Khamenei funeral
- DevelopingList of foreign leaders attending Khamenei's funeral includes Russian, Pakistani, Turkish envoys
- DevelopingIndia sends special delegation to Iran for Khamenei funeral
- DevelopingIran deputy says neighbors want to send over 1 million mourners to Khamenei funeral
Source and signal
- Internal intake