(PHOTOS) IRANIANS PAY LAST RESPECTS TO PRESIDENT RAISI WHO DIED IN HELICOPTER CRASH
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By Ajape Sefiu A.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of Iranians came together to pay their respects to President Ebrahim Raisi and the seven members of his entourage who perished in a helicopter crash on a foggy northwest mountainside.
Mourners began gathering in Tabriz’s center square, which is northwest of the city where Raisi was headed when his chopper crashed on Sunday, waving Iranian flags and photographs of the late president.
They trailed a truck that had Raisi’s and his seven assistants’ coffins.
After Raisi and his counterpart Ilham Aliyev attended the event to inaugurate a joint dam project on the Aras River, which forms part of the border with Azerbaijan, their helicopter’s communications were lost while returning to Tabriz.
Due to severe weather, Raisi’s aircraft lost communication with two other helicopters it was flying alongside, which prompted a large search and rescue operation on Sunday.
Early on Monday, a program on state television confirmed his passing, stating that “the servant of the Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom” and displaying images of him alongside a voice reading passages from the Quran.
Killed alongside the Iranian president were Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, provincial officials, and members of his security team.
While Iranians countrywide gathered in cities to mourn Raisi and his entourage, Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, demanded an investigation into the cause of the crash.
On Monday, tens of thousands of people flocked to Valiasr Square in the capital.
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proclaimed five days of national mourning and named vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as acting president in the interim until a presidential election could be held.
Later, the election’s date was confirmed by state media to be June 28.
Ali Bagheri, Amir-Abdollahian’s deputy and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, was appointed acting foreign minister.
Raisi’s remains would be transported from Tabriz to Qom, the Shiite clerical center, via air on Tuesday and then transported to Tehran that evening.
On Wednesday morning, there will be processions through the capital before Khamenei conducts prayers during a goodbye ritual.
Following burial ceremonies, Raisi’s body will be transported by air to his hometown of Mashhad, which is located in the northeast. There, he will be laid to rest on Thursday night.
63-year-old Raisi has held the position since 2021. Mass demonstrations, a worsening economic crisis, and unparalleled military confrontations with Israel—the ultra-conservative’s bitter enemy—occurred throughout his tenure in office.
As US sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program damaged the country’s economy, Raisi succeeded the centrist Hassan Rouhani.
Iran’s allies in the region, such as the Syrian government, the terrorist Palestinian organization Hamas, and the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, showered the country with condolence messages.
The terrible war in Gaza, which is currently in its eighth month, and the rising tensions between Israel and the “resistance axis,” commanded by Iran, were both caused by an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas.
Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel on April 1st, using hundreds of missiles and drones, in response to Israel’s April 1 drone strike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards.
Raisi emphasized Iran’s support for the Palestinians in a speech just hours before he passed away. This support has been a cornerstone of Iran’s foreign policy since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
AFP
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