Ahmad 
On Tuesday morning, in the city of Tabriz, the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in an accident involving a helicopter carrying him in northwestern Iran, began.
Iranian state media quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that “the funeral ceremony of Raisi and his companions began today, Tuesday, at (06:00 GMT) in the city of Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran, while Raisi’s burial ceremony will take place, on Thursday morning at the “sanctuary of Imam Reza, peace be upon him.”
State television showed thousands of people massing in the center of East Azerbaijan province carrying pictures of the president and the seven other victims in the incident.
⚫️كبار مسؤولي الحرس الثوري يحضرون مراسم تشييع الرئيس الشهيد إبراهيم رئيسي ومرافقيه في مدينة تبريز pic.twitter.com/8OuNYglcAv
— إيران بالعربية (@iraninarabic_ir) May 21, 2024
The “Tasnim” international news agency quoted the head of the “Martyrs’ Funeral Committee”, Mohsen Mansouri: “The funeral ceremony of the bodies of the President of the Republic and his companions will be held on Tuesday morning in the city of Tabriz and in the afternoon in the city of Qom, and Tuesday night will be held a farewell ceremony for the bodies of the martyrs in the chapel of the capital Tehran, and the funeral ceremony will be held on Wednesday morning in Tehran from the University of Tehran to Azadi Square (freedom).”
The agency, quoting Mansouri, said Wednesday would be a nationwide public holiday due to the funeral ceremony.
Iran’s state news agency ‘IRNA’ reported that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, assigned Mohammad Mokhebhar, the first vice president, to assume the presidency temporarily, with presidential elections to be held within 50 days.
Khamenei, who wields absolute power and has the final say on Iran’s foreign policy and nuclear program, said in a statement: “I declare 5 days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear Iranian people.”
The state-run ISNA news agency reported that Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri ordered “a high-level committee to open an investigation into the cause of the president’s helicopter crash.”
In addition to President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Mohammad Hashim, Imam Juma Tabriz, Malik Rahmati, Governor of East Azerbaijan, and Mehdi Mousavi, Commander of the Presidential Protection Unit, were also killed in the incident.
Messages of condolences poured into Iran from neighboring countries and around the world, including Syria, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the late Iranian president a “true friend of Russia”.
The Kremlin said Putin had a phone call with an informant, during which they confirmed their “common determination to strengthen Russian-Iranian communication.”
The plane crashed in the Warzaqan area north of Tabriz upon Raisi’s return from an official visit to an area bordering Azerbaijan to inaugurate the Qiz-Qal’at Si Dam, a joint project between the two countries, and there are no official statements so far about the cause of the accident.
President El-Sisi Meets China’s Foreign Minister