Photo: Collected
Large crowds of Iranians are expected to gather in Tehran on Wednesday (22 May) to pay tribute to late president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will lead prayers ahead of funeral processions for Raisi and seven members of his entourage, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The helicopter crashed Sunday on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran on the way to the city of Tabriz after they attended the inauguration of a dam project on the border with Azerbaijan.
A huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from Turkey, Russia and the European Union. State television announced Raisi's death early on Monday. Raisi, who was widely expected to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader, was 63.
In the capital, huge banners have gone up hailing the late president as "the martyr of service", while others bade "farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged".
Tehran residents received phone messages urging them to "attend the funeral of the martyr of service".
The processions, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries, are planned to set off from the University of Tehran and head to the vast Enghelab Square in the city centre, according to state media.
Messenger/Disha
