FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | Adani outlines initiatives to enhance workforce welfare | Thursday, 25 June 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS SILIGURI NATION Page 9 Shubman rises to No. 2 in ICC ODI batting rankings HM to chair 10th Apex-Level Meeting of NCORD in Delhi US Senate votes to block Trump from resuming Iran war Page 12 Page 5 Page 10 Iran invites PM Modi to attend state funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ARTI BALI New Delhi, 24 June I ranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has extended a formal invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be held in the first week of July, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. “The Iranian President has formally extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to attend the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei," sources said. New Delhi was, however, yet to confirm the invite. The funeral of Khamenei will start on 4 July and end with his burial in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, which was also his hometown, on 9 July. The 86-year-old was killed on the very first day of Israel and US airstrikes on Tehran on 28 February. Khamenei had been serving as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic for 36 years. The funeral of the Ayatollah could not take place earlier as Iran was at war with the US and Israel. The funeral will commence with a farewell ceremony at Tehran’s Grand Imam Khomeini Mosalla on Saturday, 4 July, and Sunday, 5 July, according to the spokesperson for the commemoration headquarters. The main funeral procession in Tehran is scheduled for Monday, 6 July, during which the bodies of four additional martyrs ~ Dr. Mesbah-ol-Hoda Bagheri, Seyyedeh Boshra Hosseini Khamenei, Zahra Haddad Adel, and Zahra Mohammadi Golpaygani ~ will be escorted alongside the ‘Avoid all non-essential travel to Iran’: Government advises Indian nationals martyred leader. On Tuesday, 7 July, funeral ceremonies will be held in the holy city of Qom, where prayers will be offered over the leader's body. The procession will then travel to Iraq on Wednesday, 8 July, following repeated requests from Iraqi tribes, scholars, elites, and political and religious figures. Funeral rites will be held in the cities of Najaf and Karbala, with the Iraqi government responsible for announcing specific times and locations. The burial is scheduled for Thursday, 9 July ~ coinciding New Delhi: Notwithstanding the truce between the United States and Iran, the Indian Embassy in Tehran on Wednesday advised Indian nationals to continue to avoid all non-essential travel to the Islamic nation until further notice. In a fresh travel advisory, the mission said it is closely monitoring the prevailing security situation in Iran and the recent positive developments and overall improvement. It, however, reiterated that, “Notwithstanding the recent improvements, Indian nationals are advised to continue to avoid all non-essential travel to Iran until further notice.” Indian citizens presently residing in Iran, as well as those travelling for unavoidable official or functional reasons, were advised to “exercise a high degree of caution, remain vigilant at all times, and maintain constant situational awareness.” They have also been asked to “closely follow local developments through credible sources of information and comply with all instructions issued by local authorities.” with the night of Imam Sajjad's martyrdom ~ at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad. Political figures, elites and official delegations from across the world will pay tributes to the late leader, with timing and venue details to be released by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All TMC-approved building plans put on hold: Bengal CM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 24 June Security showcase Visitors and officials gather at Bharat Mandapam during the International Police Expo 2026 and Drone International Expo 2026 in New Delhi on Wednesday. The event brings together participants from 25 countries to showcase AI-powered weapon systems, drones, and other advanced security innovations. RANJAN DIMRI EAM: Cooperation among trusted partners necessary in current int’l environment West Bengal’s BJP government today put on hold all construction plans approved during the previous Trinamul Congress regime until 31 July following suspicion that the structure crumbled due to a faulty building plan cleared by the previous dispensation. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who visited the spot and spoke to the officials, said preliminary findings indicated flaws in the sanctioned design of the five-storey steel-framed structure. “The plan was sanctioned by the previous government on 17 January. According to the corporation engineer, the plan was defective, and that has led to the disaster. The lease was given to Behara Brothers,” Adhikari told a press conferencee. “Presently we have asked to put the construction work on hold till 31 July. We will reassess all the plans that were sanctioned during the Trinamul Congress regime and give fresh sanctions,” he said. The five-storey steel-framed structure, being built over the past one-and-a-half years on land leased from the Kolkata Port Trust to a leading tea manufacturing company, had reportedly shown signs of instability since the morning. Local sources said the massive iron framework, part of a proposed tea warehouse spread across several thousand square feet, had been swaying unusually for hours before the collapse. Workers and residents had noticed apparent flaws in a section of the structure, raising concerns about its stability. Several workers reportedly gathered beneath the affected portion around noon to inspect the problem when the entire roof and steel framework suddenly gave way, crashing down within minutes and trapping dozens under tonnes of debris. When asked about the cause of the collapse, Adhikari said, “I cannot say what has happened, but there was something wrong in the plan. Whether that was deliberate or not is subject to investigation.” Clarifying the role of the port authority, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port stated that, as the lessor of the land, it grants permissions and no-objection certificates only to the extent required under the lease agreement. “The lessee is solely responsible for obtaining all statutory approvals, permissions, sanctions and clearances from the competent authorities, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and other regulatory agencies, prior to commencement of any construction activity,” the port authority said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 24 June External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the current global situation makes cooperation among trusted partners more important than ever. “I think, countries that are like-minded, countries with shared values, countries that have strong mutual trust must work with each other,” he said at a meeting in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun. “It’s a great pleasure to be back in Seoul and to meet you and your team today for our discussions. And I agree with you, I think our meeting is very timely. Timely partly because we are following up on a presidential visit just recently and also timely because of the state of the world and the importance of our relationship in this somewhat complicated world,” the minister said. Recalling his recent interactions with Cho Hyun, Jaishankar said, “My colleagues reminded me that from the time when you assumed the post of a minister, we have actually met in New York, in Kuala Lumpur, in Washington, at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and of course recently during the president’s visit. But I tell them exactly as you say, that yes, we have met recently, but I’ve known him a long time.” Emphasising the role of both foreign ministers in advancing bilateral ties, he said, “I do think today that as foreign ministers, it is clearly our responsibility to take this relationship forward, to oversee what different parts of the government and different parts of our economy, of our country, do with each other in their interactions. In coordinating that and in really, I would say, fashioning a more forward-looking, a more contemporary relationship in a more difficult world.” Reaffirming India’s commitment to strengthening the partnership, Mr Jaishankar said, “What I do want to assure you is from our side, there is a full commitment that the potential of our relationship, which many of us I think on both sides feel there’s a lot that remains to be realised, that we would strive to do that.” He also acknowledged Cho Hyun’s efforts in promoting bilateral relations, stating, “And I do want to also take the occasion to recognise your personal commitment to the relationship. From the very moment you assumed this post, you have been sending that strong signal which I hope I have equally strongly reciprocated from our side.” “We very much value the personal commitment that you have brought to this relationship. So I look forward to very, very productive talks,” Jaishankar added. India, USA edge towards trade truce as Greer concludes Delhi visit JAYANTA ROY CHOWDHURY New Delhi, 24 June US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal appeared to draw closer to a trade pact as the USTR wound up his three-day tour to the Indian capital. Officials on both sides described the negotiations as entering their final phase after days of intensive discussions. However, a final print on the pact may still take time as both sides continue to have sticking points, according to sources. A statement issued by Goyal’s office said, “Both sides noted substantial progress by negotiating teams in recent months and welcomed the momentum from successive technical and ministerial-level engagements. Discussions focused on pathways to conclude an interim agreement as an important milestone toward a comprehensive Bilateral Trade Agreement.” Diplomats and trade negotiators involved in the talks described the outcome as a near-complete framework agreement requiring only “final touches” before conclusion, but some of them also pointed out that the pact was taking time as it was “buffeted by tariff disputes, judicial interventions in the US and growing geopolitical uncertainty.” “The significance of Greer’s visit lay less in any breakthrough than in its timing. With a July 24 deadline looming for the expiry of Washington’s temporary 10 per cent universal tariff regime, negotiators are facing mounting pressure to settle the contours quickly,” said officials. The talks have acquired urgency following an unexpected intervention by the US Supreme Court earlier this year, which struck down the legal basis for a series of Trump-era reciprocal tariffs. The ruling forced the White House to recalibrate its tariff policy and reopen trade negotiations with several partners, including India. Before the court’s decision, Washington had agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. The subsequent shift to a temporary universal 10 per cent duty, however, altered the “negotiating landscape and compelled both countries to revisit key assumptions underpinning the proposed agreement,” according to officials. Indian officials sought clarity on Washington’s future tariff regime before making agreeing to new market-access commitments, while US negotiators showed reluctance to finalise concessions without a clearer understanding of the administration’s long-term trade strategy. “Greer’s arrival in New Delhi was intended to resolve the final tariff questions face-to-face and to give a political push to conclude a first-stage agreement,” said Prof Biswajit Dhar, former WTO Chair at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. Agriculture continues to be the principal point of contention. While Washington has pressed India to provide greater access for US agricultural products, including dairy, poultry, fisheries, and other farm exports, New Delhi has resisted opening these sectors as it considers them politically and economically sensitive. US negotiators have sought lower tariffs for American corn, soybeans, apples, almonds, ethanol, and dairy products, among others, besides the relaxation of genetically modified feedstock. Concessions that appear modest from a trade-policy perspective can quickly become politically combustible domestically as farming supports 40-45 per cent of Indian households. Consequently, Indian officials have increasingly framed concessions in the agriculture sector, where the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers are involved as a red line, signalling that any interim deal must leave substantial protections intact. The harder task begins after the celebrations: determining whether a narrowly focused interim agreement can evolve into the comprehensive economic partnership that Washington and New Delhi have promised for years but have yet to deliver.