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- Iran mourns the loss of President Raisi in helicopter crash
Iran mourns the loss of President Raisi in helicopter crash
On Tuesday, funeral prayers and a procession will begin in Tabriz, the largest city in the northwestern region where the crash occurred
Iran is set to commence a series of funeral ceremonies following the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of President Ebrahim Raisi and other high-ranking officials.
The incident occurred in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province, as they were returning from a dam inauguration ceremony with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
On Tuesday, funeral prayers and a procession will begin in Tabriz, the largest city in the northwestern region where the crash occurred, according to Mohsen Mansouri, head of the funeral planning committee and Iran’s vice president of executive affairs. The bodies will then be transferred to the holy city of Qom, a key center for Iran’s theocratic elite, before proceeding to the capital, Tehran.
In Tehran, large ceremonies are planned at the Grand Mosallah Mosque on Wednesday. Mansouri announced a public holiday and closure of offices nationwide to allow for the processions. Following these ceremonies, the body of President Raeisi will be moved to the historic Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, where Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei will conduct prayers.
The helicopter crash also resulted in the deaths of Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and a member of the president’s bodyguard team, Mahdi Mousavi, along with the helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot, and crew.
In response to the incident, Ayatollah Khamenei has declared a five-day mourning period across Iran. A mourning ceremony was held on Monday night at Imam Khomeini Mosalla in Tabriz to commemorate the deceased leaders and their companions.