Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that the large number of mourners who took to the streets of Iranian cities last week to pay tribute to the country’s late President Ibrahim Raisi was a testament to the Islamic Republic and its His country is widely supported.
Ayatollah Khamenei declared five days of mourning after Raisi, 63, died in a helicopter crash last weekend along with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian and five others. Videos recently released by Iranian news media showed that on Wednesday, Khamenei presided over the funeral for the deceased. People gathered outside Tehran University and listened to the large procession of the deceased through loudspeakers.
Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen quoted Ayatollah Khamenei on Saturday as saying: “This mourning event proves to the world that the people are loyal to the president of the republic and all those who embody the principles of the Islamic revolution.” Possible successor to the Supreme Leader.
“The grand funerals witnessed in Iran are proof that people are still alive,” the ayatollah added, according to Al Mayadeen, which has long reported closely on Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported Khamenei’s views but did not quote him directly. The Ayatollah was speaking at an event held by Imam Khomeini Husseini to commemorate Raisi and other victims. Menei often held rallies there.
A funeral procession was held for Lacey and others on Tuesday in Tabriz, the largest city closest to the crash site in northwest Iran. Their bodies were then transported to the holy cities of Qom and Tehran before burials.
Video footage of the commemoration released by the Islamic News Agency on Saturday showed a large crowd sitting cross-legged in the synagogue, with the camera focusing on the faces of several Asian, African and European men in suits who were said to be ambassadors and foreign officials. Condolences.
Iran’s state-backed news media often highlight the attendance of foreign dignitaries at Iran’s memorial services as a sign of international support, a move some analysts say is aimed at countering the image of a pariah state whose leaders are under crippling Western sanctions.
The country finds itself in a deeply unsettling moment, grappling with a severe economic crisis and amid heightened tensions with its main rival in the region, Israel, amid the unpredictable regional fallout of the Gaza war.
Throughout Mr Raisi’s mourning period, Iran’s leadership has tried to project a sense of calm and an orderly transition. It quickly appointed First Vice-President Mohamed Mokhbel as acting president and ordered constitutionally mandated early elections to be held on June 28.
However, the election will take place amid what many foreign observers say is plummeting popular support for the Islamic Republic and its system of governance.
Iran’s presidential and parliamentary elections often draw high levels of public participation, which leaders see as a sign of public support for the Islamic republic. But much lower voter turnout in the 2022 presidential election and this year’s congressional elections has fueled critics’ arguments that many are turning away from what they see as an increasingly authoritarian government.
Ayatollah Khamenei posted drone footage on social media on Friday showing a large crowd gathering on a main road to mourn Raisi, some holding up the Islamic Republic’s long red flags. White and green flags.
“The mass funeral of President Raisi sends a message to the world in favor of the Islamic Republic and shows its popular roots and strength. This is a power and strength that is rooted deep in Iranian society and the Iranian nation,” Ayatollah Pull accounts posted on X.
“Mr. Lacey continued to provide valuable service to the country even after his death.
