Following a devastating crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister on Sunday, the late president will be laid to rest today, said officials. Raisi's burial will take place in Masshad, his hometown.
Raisi died along with seven of the key officials in the crash near the country's border with Azerbaijan.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, led funeral prayers for the victims at Tehran University.
The remains of the deceased, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, were draped in Iranian flags bearing their photographs.
Tens of thousands of people joined the funeral procession for Iran's late president, foreign minister, and the other victims of a helicopter crash.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer over the flag-draped coffins.
Iran's acting president, Mohammad Mokhber, stood close and openly wept during the funeral. People then carried the coffins out on their shoulders, with chants outside being heard of "death to America."
The coffins were placed on a trailer and paraded through downtown Tehran to Azadi Square, famous for Raisi’s speeches.
The funeral procession was attended by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one of the country's major power centres.
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, the militant group armed and funded by Iran during the ongoing Israel-Hamas confrontation in the Gaza Strip, was also present at the funeral.
Raisi's funeral will be held in Mashhad, his eastern home city, today, where he will be laid to rest.
Meanwhile, the June 28 vote to replace Raisi, who died at 63, will need to energise a voter base that showed little interest in the 2021 referendum.
Following a historic low voter turnout of roughly 41% in a March parliamentary election, Iran's leadership is under pressure to increase turnout for next month's battle.
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