Tehran Holds Mass Funeral For President Raisi, Companions

TEHRAN, May 22 (Bernama-IRNA) -- A funeral procession for the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation, killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, was held in Iran’s capital city, Tehran, Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported. 

Iranians from all over the country travelled to Tehran to take part in the funeral procession of the late president and his entourage.

Supporters of the Islamic Revolution have flooded the streets of the capital city to bid farewell to the bodies of Raisi and other officials who passed away in the May 19 helicopter crash in northwestern Iran.

Shouting, ‘It is the day of mourning’, the mass crowd expressed condolences on the martyrdom of the president and his company. 

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei performed the prayers in a ceremony at the University of Tehran on Wednesday morning before a funeral procession in the capital city.

Over 40 high-ranking foreign delegations will participate in a Wednesday afternoon ceremony to commemorate the death of President Raisi and their companions in Tehran.

The funeral in Qom took place on Tuesday afternoon as another funeral was held earlier in the day in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

Then, the bodies of President Raisi and his companions were transferred to Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport on Tuesday.

Iranian President Raisi, together with his Foreign Minister Dr Hossein Amirabdollahian, including other Iranian officials onboard, were returning from a dam opening ceremony in Iran’s border with Azerbaijan on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in mountainous areas in Varzaghan region. All onboard were killed in the crash. 

-- BERNAMA-IRNA