STORY: Iranians attend funeral for Raisi, entourage
SHOOTING TIME: May 22, 2024
DATELINE: May 23, 2024
LENGTH: 00:00:52
LOCATION: Tehran
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Iranians attending funeral for Raisi, entourage

STORYLINE:

The funeral procession for Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who lost their lives in a recent helicopter crash, was held Wednesday morning with the participation of a large number of mournful people in the capital Tehran.
   
The procession officially started at 7:30 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) at the campus of the University of Tehran, where Iranian citizens and senior officials have already gathered there to mourn, with tearful eyes, the tragic losses of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, and representative of Iran's Supreme Leader to East Azarbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, all on board the unfortunate helicopter.
   
They also mourned the tragic death of the head of the president security team Mehdi Mousavi, the helicopter's pilot and co-pilot Taher Mostafavi and Mohsen Daryanoush respectively, and flight crew member Behrouz Qadimi.
   
The bodies were brought to the university at around 8:15 a.m. Minutes later, Iran's top leader Ali Khamenei led the funeral prayers over the bodies of the president and his entourage at the university.
   
After the prayers, the bodies were transferred from the university to the iconic Azadi Square, the ending point of the possession, through a densely-packed Enghelab Street.
   
The black-clad people accompanied the bodies along the path while holding the pictures of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian and waving the country's flags.
   
A commemoration ceremony was held for Raisi and his entourage on Wednesday evening at the International Conference Center in Tehran. According to the official news agency IRNA, 68 officials, including presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers from dozens of countries, regional and international organizations paid respect to the bodies of Raisi and his entourage.
   
The late president's body will be laid to rest in the holy shrine of Imam Reza in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tehran.
(XHTV)