Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi laid to rest at Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad

The body of Iran's Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Mashhad on Thursday morning, drawing massive crowds for his funeral procession that culminated at Imam Reza’s holy shrine, where the late president was laid to rest.

Mohammad-Reza Ghalandar, the mayor of Mashhad, estimated that around three million people participated in the mourning ceremony.

The attendees included individuals from various Iranian cities and neighboring countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkiye.

The end of a lifetime of efforts for people...

President Raisi's body rested in Imam Reza Holy Shrine (PBUH). pic.twitter.com/xlEv8YzFRn

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) May 23, 2024

Raisi, along with his foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and several other officials, died on Sunday when their helicopter crashed in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan. They were traveling to the provincial capital, Tabriz, from the border with the Azerbaijan Republic, where Raisi had inaugurated a joint dam with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

Funeral processions for the martyrs were also held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tabriz, Qom, and the capital, Tehran. Numerous high-ranking officials from other countries attended a memorial ceremony in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon.

Raisi, 63, was the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, elected in August 2021. Prior to his presidency, he served as head of Iran’s Judiciary, a member of the Expediency Council, vice chairman of the Assembly of Experts, and custodian of Astan Quds Razavi.