Mourners gather in Tehran for Iran President Raisi’s funeral procession
Al Jazeera
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers for president, foreign minister and others killed in helicopter crash.
Massive crowds of Iranians thronged the streets of the capital, Tehran, for the funeral procession of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who died in a helicopter crash.
In the city centre, mourners clutching portraits of Raisi gathered on Wednesday in and around the University of Tehran, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led the prayers.
Flanked by top officials, Khamenei said prayers over the coffins of the dead, who also included Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Raisi’s helicopter crashed into a fog-shrouded mountainside in northwestern Iran on Sunday as he headed back to the city of Tabriz after attending a ceremony on the border with Azerbaijan.
A huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from Turkey, Russia and the European Union. State television announced Raisi’s death early on Monday.