Iran: Funeral ceremonies begin for President Raisi; investigators probe chopper crash

Tehran[Iran], May 21 (ANI): Funeral ceremonies began in Iran on Tuesday for its late President Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in a helicopter crash as authorities have begun investigation into the cause of the mishap.

Footage from state owned network Press TV showed huge crowd attending the funeral procession of President Raeisi and his companions in the northwestern city of Tabriz, the site of the chopper crash.

The funeral of Raisi will be held on May 23 in the Iranian city of Mashhad in the northeast of the country, Vice-President of the Republic, Mohsen Mansouri, announced.

The funeral will be held on Thursday evening at the mausoleum of Imam Reza, he said. The Mausoleum of Imam Reza is located in Mashhad, the hometown of Raisi, a centre of pilgrimage and one of the main shrines of the Shias.

The bodies of the deceased will be transferred to the holy city of Qom, from the holy shrine of Hazrat Masoumeh (SA) to Jamkaran Mosque, before then heading to the capital Tehran.

Large ceremonies are planned in Tehran’s Grand Mosallah Mosque on Wednesday.

Raisi’s body will then be moved to the historic Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad where Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei will conduct prayers, according to Mehr News agency.

On Monday, Khamenei announced five days of mourning and a public holiday has been declared with offices closed over all over the country

Iran will elect its new president on June 28 to succeed Raisi, state media reported.

The decision to hold voting for the selection of Raisi’s successor was taken during the meeting of the heads of the judiciary, government and parliament.

The registration of candidates will be done on the May 30-June 3, and the election campaign period will be from June 12-27, state-run news agency IRNA said on Tuesday.

Also, an investigation has begun to probe into the helicopter crash in which Raisi and his accompanying team were killed.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri has assigned a high-ranking delegation to investigate the case, state media reported.

The delegation headed by Brigadier Ali Abdollahi has been dispatched to the site of the incident in and the investigation has already begun. The results of the investigations will be announced later when the mission is completed, IRNA reported.

As per Iran’s constitution, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei named Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, as acting President of the country.

Article 131 of the Iranian Constitution madates, the formation of a council to manage the executive affairs of the country for a period of 50 days and prepare for the presidential elections.

Raisi, 63, his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and seven others died when the chopper they were travelling in crashed in a remote area of northwestern Iran on May 19.

Presidential elections in Iran were scheduled to take place on 2025.

Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed to assume interim duties and Iran’s cabinet has also appointed deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani as acting foreign minister.