TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have announced that the funeral procession for President Ebrahim Raisi will be held in Tehran on Tuesday (today) following his death in a helicopter crash.
“On [Tuesday] morning, we will have the funeral procession in the city of Tehran for Raisi and other members of his entourage killed in the crash,” Mohsen Mansouri, vice president for executive affairs, told state television.
Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died after his helicopter crashed in poor weather in mountains near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday.
The charred wreckage of the helicopter, which crashed on Sunday carrying Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and six other passengers and crew, was found early on Monday after an overnight search in blizzard conditions.
Supreme Leader Khamenei, who holds ultimate power with the final say on foreign policy and Iran’s nuclear program, said First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber would take over as interim president, the official IRNA news agency reported.
“I announce five days of public mourning and offer my condolences to the dear people of Iran,” Khamenei said in a statement. Mokhber, like Raisi, is seen as close to Khamenei.
Under the Islamic Republic’s constitution, a new presidential election must be held within 50 days.
Read more: Iranian President, FM, others die in helicopter crash; Iranian media confirms
