Raisi to be buried in Mashhad

The burial ceremony of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will be held on Thursday at the holy shrine of Imam Reza in his hometown of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Iran is preparing for the burial of its late President, following a tragic helicopter crash that also claimed the life of Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others.

The incident has prompted a national period of mourning and reflections on Raisi’s influential political career.

Raisi’s coffin was transported to Mashhad after a heartfelt funeral procession in Birjand, where thousands of mourners lined the streets to pay their final respects. 

The procession featured a guard of honor as his remains arrived in Mashhad, his hometown. 

The late President, who was 63 at the time of his death, was considered a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 

In the interim, Mohammad Mokhber, the former first vice president, has stepped in as acting president until the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for June 28.

In Tehran, a separate ceremony honored Amirabdollahian, with Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani lauding him as a martyr who upheld the revolutionary ethos of the foreign ministry.