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While representatives from over a hundred countries, including Bangladesh, participated in the week-long state funeral and mourning ceremonies for Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at least 13 countries did not attend due to pressure from the United States, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. This information was reported by Middle East Eye.
Iran’s state media, Press TV, reported that at least 13 countries from Eastern Europe, Africa, the Persian Gulf region, and East Asia did not send representatives to the event due to intense pressure from the United States.
The report further claimed that several governments of the absent countries later attempted to explain their non-attendance to Tehran through diplomatic channels.
Citing an unnamed senior source, it was stated that American officials had been actively working for the past five days to prevent foreign delegations from traveling to Tehran to attend the memorial service.
According to the Middle East Eye report, on June 26, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a confidential directive. The directive stated that participation in the event would be considered an ‘unfriendly act’ by Washington. It also warned that such participation could negatively impact bilateral relations between the U.S. and the participating countries.
According to Press TV, citing two Arab diplomats, Marco Rubio personally discussed the matter with the foreign ministers of at least five Arab countries. Concurrently, U.S. ambassadors in Africa warned the respective governments that attending the event could jeopardize their development aid from the United States.
Despite these diplomatic pressures, representatives from over a hundred countries, including Bangladesh, China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Pakistan, participated in the event and paid their respects to the late Ali Khamenei, as stated in the report.
