Multitudes of Iranian citizens participate in funeral rites for Raisi.
Several funeral processions across cities in Iran indicate the sad demise of the president, Ebrahim Raisi. People bid their farewells to him for the next five days. In the meantime, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian army has ordered an investigation into the helicopter crash.
After the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a devastating helicopter crash, Iran is experiencing a period of mourning. According to state media, thousands of supporters in Tabriz and Ghom attended the funeral gatherings for the departed leader. In Tabriz, the mourners followed a truck carrying the coffins of the crash victims. Raisi's remains will be laid to rest in his hometown, Mashhad, on Thursday.
The heartbroken Iranians gathered in Tabriz displayed their loyalty by waving Iranian flags and carrying portraits of the 63-year-old leader and other casualties. Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi paid tribute, calling the deceased "martyrs." He claimed that the government members were honored to "serve this cherished president, this diligent president." Interestingly, Raisi had a severe image due to his involvement in the brutal suppression of mass protests in 2022 and the harsh judgment of numerous death sentences.
Raisi died in a helicopter crash that occurred in poor weather conditions over northwestern Iran's mountainous region last Sunday. Alongside him were elites like Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the head of his security team, and an imam. Reports suggested that these casualties were announced on Iranian state television on Monday, hours after the unsettling news first broke out.
Further funeral processions and status investigations
According to Iranian media outlets, a probe into the crash cause has been ordered by the Iranian army's chief of staff. The state officials declared a national five-day mourning period. Already, tens of thousands of mourners assembled in the capital, Tehran, on Monday.
After the initial funeral event in Tabriz, Raisi's body embarked on a flight towards Ghom, a prominent Shiite pilgrimage site, on Tuesday. The procession then journeyed towards the shrine of Fatima Masouma. Per the news agency's Irna user-generated content, "hundreds of thousands" of people confirmed their presence in the farewell ceremony. His remains were to be transported to Tehran in the evening, followed by another procession planned for Wednesday, and he will finally be entombed on Thursday.
Upon Raisi's passing, his previous deputy Mohammed Mochber was appointed as an acting president, while a meanwhile former chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, temporarily carried out the role of a foreign minister. The election date for a new president has been scheduled for June 28.
Top contender to succeed Khamenei
On Tuesday, the referendum body assembled as the Council of Experts, collectively composed of clerics. Since 2006, Raisi had actively been a part of it. Two seats were made available for Raisi and Imam Mohammad Ali-Hashem, another who unfortunately perished in the same crash. Ebrahim Raisi was a hot favorite to succeed the 85-year-old spiritual guide of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Raisi, an ultra-conservative, had been the President of Iran since 2021. His presidential tenure was marked with protests that erupted due to the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in September 2022. These were also exacerbated by an intense economic crisis, with US sanctions as a significant contributor. In April, Iran fired a salvo of drones and missiles at Israel - a first such incident in history.
Worldwide, condolences flooded in from numerous countries, as well as militant pro-Iranian groups such as the Islamist Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah. Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded Raisi as an "outstanding" politician, and condolences were also conveyed from the USA, China, and the EU.
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In the wake of President Ebrahim Raisi's tragic death, Iran is currently in a state of mourning, with numerous citizens participating in funeral rites. Moreover, during the mourning period, thousands of supporters in cities like Tabriz and Ghom attended the funeral gatherings for the departed leader.
Source: www.ntv.de
