{"id":29778,"date":"2024-05-22T02:42:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/crowds-gather-ahead-of-iranian-presidents-funeral\/22\/05\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T02:42:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:42:58","slug":"crowds-gather-ahead-of-iranian-presidents-funeral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/crowds-gather-ahead-of-iranian-presidents-funeral\/22\/05\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Crowds gather ahead of Iranian president’s funeral"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Large crowds have started to gather in the Iranian capital Tehran for the main funeral ceremony of the country’s late President Ebrahim Raisi<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Mr Raisi died alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others in a helicopter crash on Sunday near the border with Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n

The ceremony will begin with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a><\/span><\/span>, leading prayers in the capital, before coffins draped in the Iranian flag will be taken into the city’s main Azadi square.<\/p>\n

Authorities have warned against demonstrations against the funeral procession and insults posted online.<\/p>\n

Across the capital, large banners have been raised hailing Mr Raisi as “the martyr of service”, while others bade “farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged”.<\/p>\n

Some residents in Tehran received texts urging them to attend Wednesday’s ceremonies, the AFP news agency reported.<\/p>\n

Footage carried by state TV showed streets filled with mourners, many of whom were carrying pictures of Mr Raisi or the Iranian flag.<\/p>\n

A handful of foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the proceedings.<\/p>\n

Funeral rites for the men began on Tuesday in the city of Tabriz and the Shiite clerical centre of Qom, where thousands of black-clad mourners attended ceremonies.<\/p>\n

After Wednesday’s procession in the capital, Mr Raisi’s remains will be moved to South Khorasan province, before being transferred to his home city of Mashhad in the northeast.<\/p>\n

He will be buried on Thursday evening in the city after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine.<\/p>\n

Five days have of national mourning have been declared in the country.<\/p>\n

Mr Raisi was a highly divisive figure in Iran. In the 1980s, he oversaw the executions of scores of opposition activists while working as a prosecutor.<\/p>\n

And he unleashed a brutal crackdown against demonstrators angered by the killing of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old died three days after she was detained by morality police in the capital for allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.<\/p>\n

But his ultra-conservative outlook won favour with supporters of the regime, and Mr Raisi was viewed as a possible successor to Ayatollah Khamenei.<\/p>\n

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Large crowds have started to gather in the Iranian capital Tehran for the main funeral ceremony of the country’s late President Ebrahim