Ebrahim Raisi: Iran burying late president at shrine in Mashhad

Raisi was close to the 85-year-old, who is the ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic, and was widely seen as a potential successor.

Senior Western officials were noticeably absent from Wednesday’s ceremony, reflecting their countries’ strained relations with Iran.

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in the funeral processions in recent days, which the government and state media have portrayed as demonstrations of national unity.

However, many more people have stayed home, with some even celebrating the president’s death despite prosecutors warning that they could face prosecution.

Millions despised Raisi for overseeing the deadly crackdown on the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests that erupted in 2022, a year after he took office.

He also faced calls for an international investigation into his alleged role on the “death committee” which ordered the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.

His time as president will also be remembered for a deepening economic hardship and an unprecedented direct military confrontation with Israel last month, which raised fears of a regional war.

Iranian authorities say they are still investigating what caused the helicopter crash in which he died.

Officials have said the aircraft – a decades-old, US-made Bell 212 – hit a mountainside as it flew to the north-western city of Tabriz in fog and heavy rain.

Raisi was travelling with Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati, and Tabriz’s Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, as well as the head of the presidential security team and the helicopter’s three crew following the inauguration of two dams on the border with Azerbaijan.