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| Ebrahim Raisi send off |
Tens of thousands of Tehran residents have turned out to bid farewell to late President Ebrahim Raisi. The deceased president’s body, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other officials killed in a helicopter crash on May 19 arrived at the country’s Mehrabad International Airport on Tuesday, May 21. They were draped in Iranian flags with pictures of the deceased on them, while Raisi’s coffin had a black turban on it to mark his alleged direct descent from Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who declared a five-day mourning period, and new president Mohammad Mokhber lined up to welcome the deceased. The soldiers marched with the bodies on their shoulders as top officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the most powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces, paid their respects. An emotional moment was captured at the airport as Mokhber was seen tearing up beside Khamenei. Other top government officials could also be seen letting out their emotions as some kissed the president’s coffin.
by Didacus Malowa