Iran invited Korea to late supreme leader's funeral, later canceled plan: sources
Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul / Korea Times file
Iran invited Korea to participate in the funeral event for its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but later withdrew the invitation, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
"After receiving an invitation from Iran, the diplomatic mission planned to participate, but Iran later noted last-minute that the mission's attendance would be difficult due to venue-related issues," an official from Seoul's foreign ministry said.
Observers said Iran appears to have decided not to receive condolences from foreign diplomatic missions in Tehran as it focused on receiving high-level delegations from other countries.
The Korean government is also believed to have accepted Iran's change of plan, considering its relations with Washington, they added.
The former Iranian supreme leader was killed on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched attacks on the Middle Eastern nation.