Tehran [Iran], May 23: Millions of mourners flocked to a funeral procession in Tehran on Wednesday after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter accident, footage from Iran's state television showed.
The broadcaster showed the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading a prayer ceremony in front of the victim's coffins. The procession then made its way from Tehran University towards Freedom Square along crowded streets filled with mourners. Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and seven other people were killed when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area of north-western Iran on Sunday. In the wake of the crash, Khamenei ordered five days of national mourning ending on Friday.
Wednesday's funeral ceremony was attended by numerous high-ranking political and military representatives as well as foreign dignitaries, the state news agency IRNA said.
Raisi is to be buried in his home town of Mashhad on Thursday at the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth imam of Shia Islam. High-ranking representatives of friendly states are expected to attend, including Russian parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin.
Iran's state railway company has organized special trains to take mourners from Tehran to the north-eastern city of Mashhad. Raisi's death has provoked mixed reactions in Iran. While supporters of the country's Islamic regime have mourned the loss of an important political figure, critics have highlighted the heightened repression his administration oversaw.
Source: Qatar Tribune