DUBAI, May 23. /TASS/. The funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, has begun in the city of Mashhad, according to the live broadcast by the SNN TV channel.
Raisi’s coffin was taken to the president's hometown after the farewell ceremony in the city of Birjand in South Khorasan Province. Crowds of mourning Iranians gathered at Mashhad airport and in the streets leading to the burial site at the Imam Reza shrine, where Raisi himself had requested to be buried long before his death. The footage shows the mosque and its surroundings crowded with people who came to honor the president, many of them holding portraits of Raisi. Those in attendance can be heard chanting slogans such as "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." The IRNA news agency quoted Mashhad's mayor as saying that some three million people had gathered in the city's streets.
Iranians held farewell ceremonies for the late president and his associates in several cities across the country, including Tehran, Tabriz and Qom. Several million people from all over Iran participated in the funeral processions.
On May 19, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crashed in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan Province. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Province Governor Malek Rahmati and Tabriz Imam Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem were also on board the helicopter. Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir Hossein Kolivand said that all passengers and crew of the helicopter were killed in the crash. According to Iran's constitution, Mohammad Mokhber, the country’s first vice president, will serve as president until elections are held. They are scheduled for June 28.