Crowds gather ahead of Iranian president’s funeral
Large crowds have gathered in Tehran for the main funeral ceremony of Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi.
Raisi died along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others in a helicopter crash on Sunday near the Azerbaijan border.
The ceremony will begin with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading prayers in the capital. The coffins, draped in the Iranian flag, will then be taken to Azadi Square.
Authorities have warned against demonstrations and online insults during the funeral procession.
Large banners across the capital honour Raisi as “the martyr of service” and bid “farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged.”
Some Tehran residents received text messages urging them to attend Wednesday’s ceremonies, according to the AFP news agency.
State TV footage showed streets filled with mourners carrying pictures of Raisi or the Iranian flag.
A few foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the proceedings.
Funeral rites began on Tuesday in Tabriz and Qom, where thousands of mourners in black attended ceremonies.
After Wednesday’s procession in the capital, Raisi’s remains will be moved to South Khorasan province and then to his home city of Mashhad in the northeast.
He will be buried on Thursday evening in Mashhad after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine.
The country has declared five days of national mourning.