Alwaght- A massive procession commemorating the late Iranian President Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others who passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19 has begun in the capital Tehran.
Mourners have converged on the University of Tehran since early morning to attend the funeral of President Raisi and his entourage, IRNA reported.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei is set to perform the ritual Salat al-Mayyit (prayer for the deceased) at the funeral service.
Mourners will then march in procession to the Azadi (Liberty) Square.
Separate funeral services were held in Tabriz and Qom yesterday, before the bodies were transferred to Tehran for people to bid farewell to the eight martyrs at the Grand Musalla (prayer hall) on Tuesday night.
The president will be laid to rest Thursday at noon in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) is located.
A helicopter carrying President Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern mountainous forests on Sunday.
The fatal accident happened as the president was returning from Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The crash killed President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Friday prayers leader of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, Governor of East Azarbaijan Malek Rahmati, the commander of the president’s security team, two pilots and a flight crew.
Ayatollah Khamenei has offered his condolences on the “martyrdom-like” passing away of the president, declared five days of public mourning, and appointed the first vice president as the manager of the executive power.
