Historic Farewell
TEHRAN — Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and representatives of resistance groups prayed Wednesday over the coffins of Iran’s late president, foreign minister and other officials martyred in a helicopter crash earlier this week. Millions of people later followed a procession down Tehran’s main boulevard.
President Raisi passed away with seven others, including the foreign minister, Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, who was hailed by Hamas on Wednesday as the minister for the resistance.
Amid emotional scenes, the coffins of those martyred were shown to people gathered for the funeral as Ayatollah Khamenei led prayers at the University of Tehran, where he embraced President Raisi’s grandchildren and urged Iranians to remember a devoted servant.
“Oh Allah, we didn’t see anything but good from him,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in Arabic, the language of Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an. Iran’s acting president, Muhammad Mokhber, stood nearby and openly cried.
During President Raisi’s term in office, Iran launched an unprecedented strike on the occupying regime of Israel last month as its war on the Gaza Strip rages on. Iran has supported Hamas throughout the war.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh attended the prayers Wednesday morning. He recounted President Raisi telling him this year that the Oct. 7 operation by Hamas was an “earthquake in the heart of the Zionist entity.” In a later meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader told Haniyeh that the “destruction of the Zionist regime is feasible and, God willing, the day in which Palestine will be created from the sea to river will arrive.”
Referring to pro-Palestine protests at American, European and Japanese universities, Ayatollah Khamenei told Haniyeh: “Who would have believed that one day in Japan there would be demonstrations in favor of Palestine, slogans in the Persian language ‘Death to Israel’.”
Mourners at the ceremony also chanted: “Death to Israel!”
Naim Qassem, the deputy chief of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, and the Houthi representative were also in attendance.
The Leader promised that the acting president, Muhammad Mokhber, would continue with the same policies towards the occupying regime of Israel.
Statesmen from the Mideast and beyond attended a later memorial service, including Iraq’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Tunisian President Kais Saied.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was also there. Cairo and Tehran have been discussing reestablishing ties severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A single black turban was placed over President Raisi’s casket during the morning service, which signifies he was considered a direct descendent of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him). People then carried the coffins out on their shoulders