The first of the funeral ceremonies planned for Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahiyan and other officials was held in Tabriz.
In the ceremony held in Tabriz Shuheda Square and attended by tens of thousands of people, prayers were offered for President Reisi, Foreign Minister Abdullahiyan, Tabriz Friday Imam Mohammad Ali Al-i Hashim and East Azerbaijan Governor Malik Rahmati who lost their lives in the accident.
During the ceremony, Iranians gathered around the vehicle carrying the bodies and threw flowers on the bodies. The bodies will then be taken to Qom, where Reisi spent his student years, and from there to the capital Tehran. Qom has a symbolic meaning as the city where the foundations of the Islamic Revolution were laid.
The helicopter carrying Reisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian crashed in East Azerbaijan province in the northwest of the country. It was announced that East Azerbaijan provincial governor Malik Rahmati and Tabriz Friday Imam Ayatollah Ali Hashim were also on board the helicopter. While no official statement has yet been made about the cause of the helicopter’s crash, an investigation into the accident has been launched.
Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning in the country. The bodies are expected to be buried in Mashhad on Thursday after a grand ceremony in Tehran tomorrow.
