People attend a funeral ceremony for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven members of his entourage in the northwestern city of Tabriz on May 21, 2024.
Ata Dadashi | Episode | Getty Images
Thousands of mourners descended on Tabriz on Tuesday for a funeral ceremony to honor Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend, leaving an indelible void in the country's succession plans.
Videos and photos shared on social media and by Iran's state news agency Islamic Republic and the semi-official Tasnim showed crowds swarming under a slate sky to observe the first funeral ceremony held for Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others killed in the incident.
CNBC has not independently verified the footage. Some mourners are shown waving photos of Raisi, while others gather behind rows awaiting the procession.
Services for Raisi will be held between Tuesday and Thursday in Tabriz, Qom, Birjand and the Iranian capital Tehran. His final funeral will take place in his birthplace, the holy city of Mashhad in the country's northeast, according to IRNA, after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced five days of mourning.
“Our honorable Raisi worked tirelessly,” Khamenei said said on social media platform X on Monday.
A public holiday was declared on Wednesday, during which Iran will hold a ceremony inviting “high-ranking foreign dignitaries.” according to IRNA – although it is still unclear which world leaders will participate.
While some Iranians mourned Raisi, his death was a boon to critics of the “Butcher of Tehran” who denounced his record as a member of a panel that oversaw the executions of up to 5,000 people in 1988, according to Human Rights Watchand his crackdown on mass protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
Iranians gather in Valiasr Square in central Tehran to mourn the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash the day before, on May 20, 2024.
Atta Kenare | Episode | Getty Images
Raisi's sudden death sent seismic ripples on the international stage, where Iran has become increasingly isolated amid U.S. and Western sanctions and criticism of its nuclear activities and human rights record.
The helicopter carrying Raisi and Amirabdolahian made a hard landing on Sunday while returning from near the border with Azerbaijan in bad weather, depriving Iran of two key leaders at a time when the country is facing economic pressure from Western sanctions and tensions from broader conflicts in the United States. Middle East.
Tehran has historically supported the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian government of Bashar Assad, directly involving Israel last month in a first, short-lived series of airstrikes from its own territory.
The focus has now shifted to the next steps in the succession in Iran, amid the lively announcements from interim commissioners. Iran's former vice president Mohammad Mokhber now serves as acting head of state, while deputy foreign minister and nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani takes over Amirabdollahian's position. The presidential elections are scheduled for June 28. But bigger questions arise: 63-year-old Raisi, a hardline cleric, was seen as the likely heir to his 85-year-old mentor Khamenei, who has since controlled power in Iran. 1989.
People take part in a funeral procession next to a truck carrying the coffins of President Ebrahim Raisi and his seven aides in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, on May 21, 2024.
Ata Dadashi | Episode | Getty Images
Iran's future on the international stage is also at a crossroads. In March last year, Tehran and long-standing foe Saudi Arabia agreed to revive diplomatic ties following ties brokered by China, a key commercial partner of both countries. It accepted an August 2023 invitation to join the Beijing-led BRICS emerging market economic coalition and deepened ties with China and Russia, which is using Iranian-made Shahed drones in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday described Raisi's death as “a great loss for the Iranian people, and the Chinese people have also lost a good friend.” This was reported by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Also Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin praised Raisi as an “outstanding politician whose whole life was devoted to serving his Motherland” and a “true friend of Russia”, who “made an invaluable personal contribution to the development of good neighborly relations between our countries and made great efforts to put it on the right track'. level of strategic partnership.”
The US also expressed condolences over Raisi's death, along with US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller notice Monday“As Iran elects a new president, we reaffirm our support for the Iranian people and their struggle for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
