– Funeral processions for President Raïssi begin
The memory of Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi, who died this Sunday, is commemorated in Tabriz. State television broadcasts the rallies.
Men hang a huge portrait of Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi in front of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, May 20, 2024, during a condolence service for the president and his entourage, who were killed in a helicopter crash in Iran the day before.
AFP/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
Tens of thousands of Iranian mourners gathered Tuesday morning for the start of funeral ceremonies for President Ebrahim Raisi in Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province where he died in his helicopter crash .
A huge crowd covered the city’s main square, waving flags and portraits of the president who died at age 63 and the seven other victims of the crash, according to images from AFP TV.
The eight coffins covered with the Iranian flag were driven on a truck through the crowd.
Iran declared a five-day mourning on Monday, and the president’s funeral will continue in the afternoon in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, Wednesday in the Iranian capital and Thursday in Mashhad (northeast ), where he will be buried.
Speaking at the start of the ceremony, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi paid tribute to the victims, considered “martyrs”. “The Iranian people have shown that they will turn every calamity into a staircase to elevate the nation to new glories,” he said.
“We, the members of the government, who have had the honor of serving this beloved president, this hardworking president, we commit to our dear people and our leader to follow the path of these martyrs,” he said. -he adds.
Crash investigation
Mr. Raisi, who has presided over Iran since 2021, died in the accident of the helicopter which took him to Tabriz on Sunday after attending the joint inauguration of a dam with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in their common border.
Difficult search and rescue operations were carried out for around twelve hours in poor weather conditions in this steep and wooded region. The wreckage of the helicopter was discovered at dawn on Monday.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri on Monday ordered an investigation into the causes of the crash.
Among the eight people on board the plane were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, 60, the governor of East Azerbaijan province, an imam and the head of the president’s security team .
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tasked Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, 68, to serve as interim president ahead of the presidential election, the date of which has been set for June 28.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, who served as Amir-Abdollahian’s deputy, was named acting foreign minister.
Many countries have offered their condolences to the Islamic Republic.
Buried Thursday
Ayatollah Khamenei is due to lead prayers at a farewell ceremony planned for Tuesday evening in Tehran, where Mr. Raisi’s remains will be transferred.
The big procession will be held on Wednesday in the capital on Wednesday morning.
Then Raisi’s remains will be taken Thursday morning to the province of South Khorasan (east), and his hometown, Mashhad, where he will be buried.
University exams have been suspended and Wednesday will be a public holiday.
The ultraconservative Raïssi, 63, was considered one of the favorites to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, aged 85.
During the three years of his presidency, he faced a protest movement in the streets in 2022, an economic crisis worsened by American sanctions and a worsening of tensions with the sworn enemy Israel since the start of the war. in the Gaza Strip in October.
Palestinian Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah and Syria, all allies of the Islamic Republic and claiming to be part of the axis of resistance against Israel, paid tribute to the late president.
In a speech a few hours before his death, Raisi reaffirmed Iran’s support for the Palestinians, the centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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