MALÉ — The Maldives government said Wednesday that it had intended to attend the official state funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but was ultimately unable to do so after a last-minute change to the protocol for foreign delegations and subsequent travel constraints.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Maldivian government had received an official invitation from Iran to attend Khamenei’s state funeral held on July 3.
According to the ministry, the Government had formally informed Iranian authorities that the Maldives’ Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ahmad Sareer, would represent the country at the ceremony.
However, shortly before the ambassador’s departure, the Iranian Embassy informed the Maldives that ambassadors would no longer be permitted to attend the official funeral as a result of revised protocol arrangements for foreign delegations.
The ministry said the government immediately decided to send a representative at the level of a State Minister from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead.
However, because the deadline for available flights to Tehran was approaching, the State Minister would only have arrived after the official funeral ceremony had concluded, making attendance impossible.
According to the ministry, the Iranian government thanked the Maldives for its decision to send a State Minister and suggested that, instead of travelling during the funeral period, a senior Maldivian government official visit Iran at a later date.
The ministry also said that Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel had conveyed condolences to his Iranian counterpart on behalf of the Government and the people of the Maldives following Khamenei’s death.
The clarification comes after questions were raised over the Maldives’ absence from the funeral, particularly as several neighbouring and Muslim-majority countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sent official delegations to the ceremonies.
The issue also drew attention because the Maldives had previously been represented at the funeral of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi by then-Minister Adam Shareef Umar.
The Foreign Ministry said the Maldives’ absence from the official ceremony resulted from changes to diplomatic protocol and the practical limitations of arranging alternative travel at short notice, rather than a decision not to participate.
