New Delhi: India will send Bihar governor Syed Ata Hasnain and minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita to Iran to represent the country at the funeral ceremonies of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Iran had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the state funeral, but New Delhi has decided to be represented by Hasnain and Margherita, according to sources.Syed Ata Hasnain and Pabitra Margherita. Photos: PTI/Kamal Kishore and AP/PTI.Khamenei was killed on February 28 in a joint US-Israeli strike on his compound in Tehran on the first day of the Iran war, with Iranian state media confirming his death the following day. His burial, originally planned for early March, was postponed because of the continuing conflict and security situation.Iran has announced that the funeral ceremonies will begin in Tehran on July 4, with a funeral procession in the capital on July 6, followed by ceremonies in the holy city of Qom on July 7.Khamenei will be buried on July 9 at the Imam Reza shrine in his hometown of Mashhad, alongside four members of his family who were also killed in the February strikes. Iranian authorities have said they are preparing for millions of mourners to attend the ceremonies.India did not immediately issue an official statement condoling Khamenei’s death, despite longstanding ties with Iran. The government’s silence drew criticism from opposition parties, which questioned New Delhi’s reluctance to publicly respond to the killing of the Iranian leader.Four days after Khamenei’s death, foreign secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in New Delhi and signed the condolence book on behalf of the government and the people of India. The Ministry of External Affairs described the visit as conveying India’s condolences, but the government did not issue a separate formal condolence statement. Before the visit, the ministry had instructed Indian missions abroad to refrain from signing condolence books pending further directions, a position that was subsequently reversed.India later raised the level of its representation when Margherita attended the chehelum, or 40th-day mourning ceremony, organised by the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on April 12. The external affairs ministry said he had offered “solemn respects on behalf of the Government of India”.Iranian authorities have invited leaders from several countries to attend the funeral ceremonies, including Modi. Tehran has not yet released a final list of confirmed foreign dignitaries who will attend.The funeral comes as the ceasefire that followed months of fighting involving Iran, Israel and the United States remains under pressure. Fresh exchanges of fire, attacks on shipping and continuing tensions have cast doubt on the durability of the June 17 understanding, even as US and Iranian officials prepare for another round of talks in Doha on Tuesday.