Tens of thousands of Iranians thronged the streets of Tehran on Wednesday to mourn President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Gathering at the University of Tehran, mourners held portraits of Raisi as they awaited the prayer service led by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Raisi’s helicopter crashed on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran while traveling to Tabriz after attending a dam inauguration near the Azerbaijan border. The crash prompted a massive search and rescue operation, involving aid from Turkiye, Russia, and the European Union. State television confirmed Raisi’s death early Monday.
Tehran is adorned with banners honoring Raisi as “the martyr of service,” with messages urging citizens to attend his funeral. The funeral procession will proceed from the university to Enghelab Square, with earlier rites in Tabriz and Qom witnessing tens of thousands of black-clad mourners paying their respects.
In the wake of Raisi's death, Khamenei declared five days of national mourning and appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as caretaker president until the June 28 election. Ali Bagheri, Raisi’s top nuclear negotiator, has been named acting foreign minister. An investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash has been ordered by the armed forces chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri.
Condolences have flowed in from global allies, including Russia, China, Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The UN Security Council observed a minute of silence in his honor, and NATO also expressed its condolences. Raisi's unexpected death leaves a significant void in Iran's political landscape, underscoring the nation's grief and uncertainty in these turbulent times.
Raisi’s helicopter crashed on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran while traveling to Tabriz after attending a dam inauguration near the Azerbaijan border. The crash prompted a massive search and rescue operation, involving aid from Turkiye, Russia, and the European Union. State television confirmed Raisi’s death early Monday.
Tehran is adorned with banners honoring Raisi as “the martyr of service,” with messages urging citizens to attend his funeral. The funeral procession will proceed from the university to Enghelab Square, with earlier rites in Tabriz and Qom witnessing tens of thousands of black-clad mourners paying their respects.
In the wake of Raisi's death, Khamenei declared five days of national mourning and appointed Vice President Mohammad Mokhber as caretaker president until the June 28 election. Ali Bagheri, Raisi’s top nuclear negotiator, has been named acting foreign minister. An investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash has been ordered by the armed forces chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri.
Condolences have flowed in from global allies, including Russia, China, Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The UN Security Council observed a minute of silence in his honor, and NATO also expressed its condolences. Raisi's unexpected death leaves a significant void in Iran's political landscape, underscoring the nation's grief and uncertainty in these turbulent times.
