Officials from 68 countries attend Iranian president’s funeral in Tehran

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – High-ranking officials from at least 68 countries attended a ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday to pay respect to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions killed in a helicopter crash this weekend.

The ceremony was held hours after hundreds of thousands of people took part in a funeral procession in the Iranian capital for Raisi and others killed in Sunday's accident, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Foreign dignitaries were received by acting President Mohammad Mokhber, acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and other government officials.

Those who attended the ceremony included Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Azerbaijani Premier Ali Asadov.

President of Tunisia Kais Saied, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and the parliament speakers of Lebanon, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Mali, Russia and Uzbekistan also attended and paid their tributes.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also took part in the ceremony.

Attendees also included the foreign ministers of Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Venezuela and Jordan.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh also took part in the ceremony and held a meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the sidelines of the funeral ceremony.

Raisi, Amir-Abdollahian and others were killed after their helicopter crashed in northwestern Iran on Sunday due to inclement weather conditions.

Authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Raisi will be airlifted to the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday morning and laid to rest in the shrine of Imam Reza, where he served as a custodian from 2016 to 2019.

Amir-Abdollahian will be buried at the Shah Abdul Azim shrine in southern Tehran on Thursday morning, as per his family's wish.