Iran: Late president Ebrahim Raisi to be laid to rest in holy city of Mashhad

Four days after he and six other individuals, including Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, perished in a helicopter crash, Raisi is scheduled to be buried on Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad.

Following a funeral procession held this morning in the eastern city of Birjand, where thousands of people paid their respects as Raisi’s remains were taken through the streets in a motorcade, his coffin was flown to Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

When the jet carrying Raisi’s casket landed in Mashhad, his hometown, a guard of honor rose to salute. Raisi will be buried at the gold-domed Imam Reza shrine, the holiest Islamic monument in Iran and the location that Shi’ite Muslims believe to be his final resting place.

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Widely considered as a contender to replace Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Raisi, 63, held a position of ultimate authority. First vice president Mohammad Mokhber is acting as acting president until an election is held in June.

The helicopter crashed near the border with Azerbaijan in a mountainous area, killing eight of the passengers and crew.

Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani hailed Amirabdollahian as a martyr who had “guaranteed the revolutionary nature of the foreign ministry” during a ceremony conducted at the foreign ministry in Tehran to honor him.

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Amirabdollahian will be laid to rest in the Shah Abdolazim tomb, a mausoleum that houses prominent Iranian artists and politicians, to the south of Tehran.

Iran declared five days of mourning for Raisi, who implemented his master Khamenei’s hardline policies, which included tightening restrictions on opponents, consolidating religious control, and taking a harsh stance on foreign policy matters like holding nuclear talks with Washington to resurrect Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement.

The presidential election has been scheduled for June 28.