Iran begins burying late president, others killed in helicopter crash

Iran on Thursday prepared to inter its late president at the holiest site for Shiite Muslims in the Islamic Republic a final sign of respect for a proteacutegeacute of Irans supreme leader killed in a helicopter crash earlier this weekPresident Ebrahim Raisis burial at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad caps days of processionals through much of Iran seeking to bolster the countrys theocracy after the crash that killed him the countrys foreign minister and six othersHowever the services have not drawn the same crowds as those who gathered for services for Revolutionary Guard Gen Qassem Soleimani in 2020 slain by a US drone strike in BaghdadIts a potential sign of the publics feelings about Raisis presidency during which the government harshly cracked down on all dissent during protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini detained for allegedly not wearing her mandatory headscarf to authorities likingThat crackdown as well as Irans struggling economy have gone unmentioned in the hours of coverage provided by state television and in newspapers Also never discussed was Raisis involvement in the mass execution of an estimated 5000 dissidents at the end of the IranIraq warProsecutors have warned people against showing any public signs of celebrating Raisis death and a heavy security force presence has been seen in Tehran since the crashOn Thursday morning thousands in black gathered along a main boulevard in the city of Birjand Raisis hometown in Irans South Khorasan province along the Afghan border A semitruck bore his casket down the street with mourners reaching out to touch it and tossing scarves and other items to be placed against it for a blessing A sign on the truck read This is the shrineHours later Raisis casket arrived in Mashhad He will be buried at the Imam Reza Shrine where Shiite Islams 8th imam is buried The region long has been associated with Shiite pilgrimage A hadith attributed to Islams Prophet Mohammad says anyone with sorrow or sin will be relieved through visiting thereIn 2016 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Raisi to run the Imam Reza charity foundation which manages a vast conglomerate of businesses and endowments in Iran as well as oversees the shrine It is one of many bonyads or charitable foundations fueled by donations or assets seized after Irans 1979 Islamic RevolutionThese foundations offer no public accounting of their spending and answer only to Irans supreme leader The Imam Reza charity known as Astane Qudse Razavi in Farsi is believed to be one of the biggest in the country Analysts estimate its worth at tens of billions of dollars as it owns almost half the land in Mashhad Irans secondlargest cityRaisi will be the first top politician in the country to be buried at the shrine which represents a major honor for the clericThe death of Raisi Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others in the crash on Sunday comes at a politically sensitive moment for Iran both at home and abroadRaisi who was 63 had been discussed as a possible successor to Irans supreme leader the 85yearold Khamenei None of Irans living past presidents other than Khamenei who was president from 1981 until 1989 could be seen in state television footage of Wednesdays prayers The authorities gave no explanation for their apparent absenceIran has set June 28 as the next presidential election For now theres no clear favorite for the position among Irans political elite particularly no one who is a Shiite cleric like RaisiActing President Mohammad Mokhber a relatively unknown first vice president until Sundays crash has stepped into his role and even attended a meeting between Khamenei and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on WednesdayState media circulated photos Thursday showing a meeting between Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard chief and the head of its expeditionary Quds Force and representatives from Hamas Lebanons Hezbollah and Yemens Houthi rebels Thats another sign of Irans governments commitment to those militias it arms against its rivals Israel and the United StatesMeanwhile former Foreign Ministers Mohammed Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi and other dignitaries paid respects to Amirabdollahian at Irans Foreign Ministry where his casket was put on display His body later was interred in Shahre Rey just outside of Tehran at the Abdol Azim shrine another final resting place for those famed in Persian historyGive Soleimani our greetings a religious singer said as Amirabdollahians body was placed inside its final resting place referring to the slain generalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever