Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, will attend the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran as a special envoy of President Vladimir Putin, Iran's ambassador to Moscow said, ISNA reported on July 1.

Iran is expected to shutdown for four days during the lengthy funeral procession of the second Iranian supreme leader, who was killed by the US and Israeli strikes on his house on February 28. Security is also expected to be extremely tight, with fears from inside the country that the processions and events could be targets for espionage by foreign actors. Airspace above Tehran and Mashhad is expected to be fully closed during the events. 

The visit points to the close ties between Moscow and Tehran, deepened over recent years through military and economic cooperation, with the Kremlin sending a senior figure to a ceremony expected to draw delegations from at least 30 countries.

Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister, will represent Putin at the ceremony for the slain leader of the Islamic Revolution, said Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow.

The mourning ceremony for Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 3, when high-level delegations from at least 30 countries will take part. From July 4 to 5, Khamenei's body will lie at the Mosalla of Tehran, the city's largest religious and public complex, where members of the public can pay their respects.

A funeral procession will pass through the main streets of the Iranian capital on July 6, after which the body will be taken to the city of Qom, where mourning ceremonies will be held on July 7.

The burial is set for July 9 in Khamenei's home city of Mashhad in the mausoleum in the city. Khamenei opted for that option away from Tehran's impressive mausoleum created for his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and other top officials of the republic. 

Following the assassination of Khamenei, Medvedev—in his role as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council—harshly condemned the attack on the international stage but stopped short of offering Russian military assistance during the war.