Iran in mourning: Thousands attend funeral for provincial governor
Tens of thousands of mourners have attended a funeral procession for the governor of East Azarbaijan Province who lost his life along with President Ebrahim Raeisi and other officials in a helicopter crash Sunday.
Senior Iranian officials, including the country’s interior minister, were among those attending the Friday funeral for Malek Rahmati in Maragheh where he was to be laid to rest later in the day.
Speaking at the ceremony, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said "martyrs unify the nation", referring to the funeral processions that were held in several cities over the past few days and attended by millions of mourners.
“This cohesion, unity, integration …are all born of the faith of our great nation, which will increase thanks to the blood of the martyrs.”
Vahidi said the incident showed to the world that the Iranian nation is “loyal and resilient” and can thwart any hostile plots.
On Sunday, the helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his entourage crashed as it was on its way to Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azarbaijan province.
Rahmati and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian along with Friday Prayers leader of Tabriz city Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, as well as crew members and a bodyguard also lost their lives in the crash.
The incident engulfed Iran in shock and grief and generated a groundswell of support and solidarity from Muslims and non-Muslims across the world.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, expressing his deep sorrow over the "martyrdom-like passing", announced five days of national mourning on Monday.
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