Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Wednesday to attend the funerals of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdolahian and other officials who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who declared five days of mourning, led the ceremonies that began at Tehran University in the center of the capital.
The bodies of Raisi and other victims of the helicopter crash, which were flown to Tehran with honors on May 21, were wrapped in Iranian flags and their pictures were placed on them.
A black turban was placed over Raisi's body to mark his alleged direct descent from the Prophet Muhammad.
In addition to Iran's top leaders, the ceremony was attended by several foreign officials, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation of Afghan Taliban leaders, led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaki.
The ceremony is also attended by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, a group that has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU). Iran has been arming and supporting Hamas during the current war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Naim Qasim, deputy leader of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, was also present.
The crowd reportedly chanted "Death to Israel".
Funeral ceremonies began on May 21 in the Shiite clerical center of Qom and in Tabriz, the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province, where the helicopter crashed on May 19.
Khamenei appointed Mohamed Mokber, who was Raisi's vice president, as interim president.
He will be in the position of president for a short time because the authorities have set June 28 as the date for new presidential elections.
Mokber will organize new elections together with Parliament Speaker Mohamed Bagher Ghalibaf and Judiciary Chief Hujat al-Islam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
Raisi was elected president in 2021 and has since tightened restrictions on Iranians, through mandatory enforcement of morality laws and a bloody war against anti-government demonstrations, which were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody for allegedly violating the headscarf law.
Thousands of people have been arrested, including journalists, lawyers, athletes and artists, and at least 500 people have been killed during Iran's brutal crackdown on demonstrations.
Raisi also made major efforts in nuclear negotiations with world powers, allowing his country to significantly increase its enriched uranium program at the same time.
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