Funeral Begins in Iran: Coffins of Ebrahim Raisi and His Companions on The Streets of Tabriz

Thousands of Iranians walked soberly through the streets on Tuesday for the funeral procession of President Ibrahim Raisi and seven members of his entourage, who were killed in a helicopter crash waving Iranian flags and portraits of the late president. The mourners set off from a central square in the northwestern city of Tabriz where Ricey was headed when his helicopter crashed on Sunday. Irans government has arranged multiple days of mourning, culminating in a funeral later this week for the 63 year old ultra conservative cleric who had once been seen as a potential successor to current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Tuesday began with funeral prayers and a procession in the northwestern city of Tabriz, the largest city in the mountainous northwestern region of Iran, where the chopper crashed, according to Mohsin Mansouri, the head of the funeral planning committee and Irans vice president of executive affairs. Later, the bodies of the victims will be transferred to the holy Shiite city of Qom, where many of the clerics who make up Irans theocratic elite are trained, before then heading to the capital, Tehran. Large ceremonies are planned in Tehran's enormous Grand Masala Mosque. On Wednesday, Mansouri announced a public holiday in the closure of offices all over the country that day so that processions could take place. Raisi's body will then be moved to the historic Imam RZA shrine in Mashhad, where Ayatollah Khamenei will conduct prayers. According to main news, Raisi's burial ceremony is going to be held in the northeastern city of Mashhad in the shrine of the 8 Shia Imam RZA on Thursday evening. Among the notable officials attending the funeral ceremony being held in Tabriz today are people like Ahmed Vahidi, the interior Minister of Iran. In a speech broadcast live by Iranian state TV, he said that if this incident happened in any other country, it would have faced a very bleak future. But, he says, with the relieving existence of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran will move through this event smoothly. Rice's death follows a helicopter crash as authorities proved what caused the aircraft to smash into the side of a remote mountainside during foggy weather on Sunday morning. Ricey's death, alongside other high-ranking officials including the country's foreign minister, has left the Islamic Republic's hardline establishment facing an uncertain future as it navigates rising regional tensions and domestic discontent. Subscribe to 1I Channel and never miss an update.