Mourners have converged on the University of Tehran since early morning to attend the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who passed away in a helicopter crash on May 19.

The funeral procession of President Raisi and seven others killed in the tragic crash began in capital Tehran on Wednesday morning.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei is going to perform the ritual Salat al-Mayyit (prayer for the deceased) at the funeral service.

A huge crowd of people from all walks of life have attended the funeral service in the University of Tehran.

Mourners will then march in procession to the Azadi (Liberty) Square.

Separate funeral services were held in Tabriz and Qom yesterday, before the bodies were transferred to Tehran for people to bid farewell to the eight martyrs at the Grand Musalla (prayer hall) on Tuesday night.

The president will be laid to rest Thursday at noon in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) is loc
ated.

A helicopter carrying President Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern mountainous forests on Sunday.

The fatal accident happened as the president was returning from Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan after inaugurating a dam at the common border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The crash killed President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Friday prayers leader of Tabriz Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem, Governor of East Azarbaijan Malek Rahmati, the commander of the president’s security team, two pilots and a flight crew.

Ayatollah Khamenei has offered his condolences on the ‘martyrdom-like’ passing away of the president, declared five days of public mourning, and appointed the first vice president as the manager of the executive power.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon