21 May 2024 , 07:50
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The three-day-long funeral of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi has begun after he was killed in a helicopter crash in north-west Iran.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets to witness Raisi's funeral procession in Tabriz. It marks the first of several funeral ceremonies for Raisi and other officials who were killed in the helicopter crash.
Raisi's body will next be moved to the city of Qom for another funeral procession before being taken to the capital city of Tehran, according to Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri. A funeral ceremony will also take place in Tehran on Wednesday, where Supreme Leader Khamenei will congregational prayers for the deceased. Wednesday will also be a public holiday in Iran.
Some people in the Islamic Republic celebrated his death, with footage on social media showing defiant Iranians setting off fireworks in spontaneous acts of celebration.
On Thursday, Raisi's body will be transferred to Birjand, Mansouri announced, before his burial ceremony, which will be held in the city of Mashhad in the shrine of the eighth Shia Imam Reza on Thursday night.
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People attend funeral ceremony, held for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his senior officials died in a helicopter crash (Anadolu via Getty Images)Raisi had been returning on Sunday from a trip to Iran's border with Azerbaijan to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. But the aircraft crashed in the Dizmar forest in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, sparking an hourslong search hindered by foggy weather and mountainous terrain.
Iran has offered no cause for the crash nor suggested sabotage brought down the helicopter.
Following the crash, in Tehran businesses were open and children attended school Monday. However, there was a noticeable presence of both uniformed and plainclothes security forces.
Twisted remants following the helicopter crash (Anadolu via Getty Images)All eight people on board were killed in the crash, including Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as well as the governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati, and Tabriz’s Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem. The head of the president's security team, IRGC Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi were also killed.
The crash comes as the Israel-Hamas war roils the region. Iran-backed Hamas led the attack that started the conflict, and Hezbollah, also supported by Tehran, has fired rockets at Israel. Last month, Iran launched its own unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel.
Rescue team members work at the crash site (MOJ News Agency/AFP via Getty Im)A hard-liner who formerly led the country’s judiciary, Raisi, 63, was viewed as a protege of Khamenei. During his tenure, relations continued to deteriorate with the West as Iran enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels and supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
His government has also faced years of mass protests over the ailing economy and women’s rights.