Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Wednesday to join the funeral processions for President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
In central Tehran, crowds holding portraits of Raisi gathered at the University of Tehran, where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was set to lead prayers for Raisi and his companions, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The fatal crash occurred on a foggy mountainside in northern Iran as Raisi’s helicopter was en route to the city of Tabriz after attending the inauguration of a dam project near the Azerbaijani border.
A large-scale search and rescue operation, involving assistance from Turkey, Russia, and the European Union, was promptly launched. Raisi’s death was announced by state television early on Monday.
Raisi, who was widely seen as a likely successor to Khamenei as supreme leader, was 63. In Tehran, massive banners proclaimed Raisi as “the martyr of service,” while others bid “farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged.”
Residents were urged via phone messages to participate in the funeral processions, which state media reported would begin at the university and proceed to Enghelab Square in the city center. The processions were to be attended by foreign dignitaries.
The funeral rites started on Tuesday with tens of thousands of mourners in Tabriz and the Shiite clerical center of Qom. After the Tehran ceremonies, the bodies were to be moved to South Khorasan province before being transferred to Raisi’s hometown of Mashhad in the northeast.
Raisi would be buried on Thursday evening following funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine.
In response to the tragedy, Khamenei declared five days of national mourning and appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president until the election for Raisi’s successor on June 28.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri, was named acting foreign minister. The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, ordered an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash.
Raisi, elected president in 2021, succeeded moderate Hassan Rouhani at a time when the economy was severely impacted by US sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program. His tenure saw significant protests, a worsening economic crisis, and intense confrontations with Israel.
Global allies like Russia and China, regional powers, and entities such as NATO and the UN Security Council, which observed a minute of silence, extended their condolences. Condolence messages also came from regional allies, including Syria, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, both of which are supported by Tehran.
