Iran begins funeral procession for president after helicopter crash

Iran has begun a three-day funeral procession for late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash at the weekend, as the country’s leaders sought to project stability following the disaster.

Large crowds gathered as the procession started on Tuesday in the north-western city of Tabriz, the largest city near the site of the crash, which took place in a remote and mountainous region where rescue teams took about 20 hours to find Raisi’s body.

Also among the eight victims was the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Raisi’s body will be transported from Tabriz to the holy city of Qom, the base for senior Shia Muslim clergy, on Tuesday, before being taken to Tehran. The government has declared a public holiday on Wednesday for the ceremony in the capital. 

“Iran will create another historic epic in the funeral,” said Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Tuesday. “There will be no disruption in the country’s affairs with the martyrdom of the revered president.” 

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, will lead the religious ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday before Raisi’s body is taken to his home area, the Khorassan region in the north-east.

The late president will then be buried on Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad, where the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims, Reza, is interred — the largest pilgrimage destination in the country.

In keeping with Iran’s constitution, Khamenei has appointed first vice-president Mohammad Mokhber as the head of the executive branch until elections are held on June 28.

Presidential candidates will begin registering next Thursday, and those who pass the strict vetting process will be allowed to campaign for two weeks before polling day.

Mokhber’s major decisions will be made in co-ordination with the heads of parliament and the judiciary until a new president is elected. The judiciary has warned Iranians that any “spread of lies” or “insults” about Raisi and his death will be dealt with severely. 

Meanwhile, the new Assembly of Experts, which will be responsible for appointing the next leader when Khamenei dies, held a previously scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

Raisi — elected one more time for the assembly in the March election — was considered a strong candidate to become the assembly’s new head and potentially the next supreme leader.

The clerical members elected Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani, a senior conservative cleric, as the body’s new head for the next two years.

The death of Raisi, 63, has come at a difficult time for Iran. The economy is struggling in the face of US sanctions, while the country is part of heightened tensions in the Middle East. A years-long shadow war between Iran and Israel has burst into the open following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.