Iran to hold funeral procession for Raisi on Tuesday

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – A funeral procession for Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will be held in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Tuesday, local media said.

State news agency IRNA said Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian and other top officials killed in Sunday’s helicopter crash will be buried in Qom in central Iran.

After a nightlong search operation hampered by bad weather, Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian, and other top officials were declared dead on Monday morning.

Dozens of emergency rescue teams were dispatched to the mountainous area in northwestern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, where the accident occurred Sunday afternoon.

According to the Iranian Constitution, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will assume powers of the presidency, and elections will be held within 50 days.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar