At least 13 countries, including several in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Gulf and East Asia, decided against attending the funeral ceremony for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei under US pressure, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported.
Some of these governments later sought to explain their absence to Tehran through diplomatic channels, the report said.
Citing an unnamed senior source, the report said that US officials had waged a "comprehensive campaign" over the past five days to discourage foreign delegations from travelling to Tehran for the commemorations.
According to the report, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a confidential instruction on 26 June directing US embassies and diplomatic missions to tell host governments that participation in the funeral would be regarded as "an unfriendly act" carrying "negative consequences" for bilateral relations with Washington.
Tasnim also cited two unnamed Arab diplomats as saying Rubio had personally raised the issue with counterparts from at least five Arab countries.
The report added that US ambassadors in Africa warned governments that attending the ceremony could jeopardise US development assistance.
Middle East Eye ISSN 2634-2456
