In addition to the high-ranking Chinese politician He Wei and the deputy president of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, bury Khamenei Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina is also present in Iran on behalf of the Government of Serbia.
Ivan Vujacic, the former ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Washington, tells "Vreme" that this is definitely not one of those decisions that Aleksandar Vucic can say was made against his knowledge. Especially if it is known that Tehran uses the funeral of Ali Khamenei and his family members to spread its swaying influence in the region and the world.
"There is no need to talk at all about who decided that Bratina should go to Tehran," says Vujacic for "Vreme". "Such decisions really only apply at the highest state level."
All the enemies of the West are gathered
The war in Iran has just been stopped, and Ali Khamenei is the man whose policies in the Middle East have caused millions of people to suffer. Khamenei considered the Islamic Republic the only true force of resistance against the "imperialist" West and dreamed of a powerful Shiite Iran in the Islamic world. His speeches were permeated with the term "enemy", and the main enemy was always the United States.
Repression against women reached new levels, while many young experts and academics emigrated.
By sending a minister in the Government of Serbia to the funeral of such a leader, and in such foreign-political relations, Serbia did not just want to send a message to Iran.
"I believe that the idea was to show the Russians and the Chinese that we are not under Western influence," says Vujačić, who is also a retired professor at the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade. "Nevertheless, with this decision, we also sent a message that we are pursuing a policy that should be on the side of countries that believe that Iran is a state that is threatened and under aggression, and not the other way around."
Vujacic adds that with this move, the regime potentially tried to copy the old message of SFR Yugoslavia, which is to maintain the line of balance between the West and the East. However, that message is almost half a century late.
What will the EU and America say?
The European Union, which years ago appealed to Serbia to harmonize its foreign and security policy with the EU, probably won't like the photo of the Serbian minister in Tehran. The issue of sanctions against Russia was the main stumbling block and is one of the reasons why negotiations on Serbia's membership in the Union have been stalled since 2021.
America will certainly not like it either, although Vucic has been trying to present himself as a friend of Donald Trump for years. The last in a series of attempts was when the Serbian president thanked Trump - because he mentioned it.
"I don't believe that the decision will be liked by the EU and the USA", believes Vujacic. "But, bearing in mind the other problems that Serbia has in any cooperation with the EU, I am afraid that this move will not be of crucial importance. Because Serbia is already in a very bad position."
Vujačić reminds that at least five member states of the European Union oppose the opening of Cluster 3 with Serbia. The main reason is the great problems in the field of the rule of law in the country.
Secretly from the citizens of Serbia?
Bratina went to Tehran on Friday, July 3. Neither the Government of Serbia nor Boris Bratina's relevant ministry announced this, but the information arrived because the Iranian Ministry of Information and Telecommunications boasted about discussions about the economy and common interests on social networks.
Branko Miljuš, a member of the Presidency of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), asked whether Bratina continued his trip to Tehran from Brussels, where he stayed with Ana Brnabić, Marko Đurić and Nemanja Starović, as well as whether Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić informed the administration of US President Donald Trump that he was sending a minister to Tehran.
Serbia's Minister of Communications Boris Bratina and the accompanying delegation paid tribute to the late Leader of the Islamic Revolution during the official mourning ceremony.#iran #Serbia https://t.co/rTYyF9Q5We pic.twitter.com/aOnD5QEcZS
— Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (@Iran_GOV) July 3, 2026
Who sent all the representatives?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that representatives from more than 70 countries attended the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Heads of state or government were sent by Pakistan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia.
The funeral is also attended by the Vice President of Turkey, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, a senior Chinese politician, the Deputy President of the Security Council of Russia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
