Iran'ssupreme leader presided over a funeral Wednesday for the country'slate president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash, as tens of thousands later followed a procession of their caskets through the capital, Tehran.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held the service at Tehran University, the caskets of the dead draped in Iranian flags with their pictures on them.Iran'sacting president, Mohammad Mokhber, stood nearby and openly wept during the service.People then carried the coffins out on their shoulders, with chants outside of &Death to America!&They loaded them onto a trailer for a procession through downtown Tehran to Azadi, or Freedom, Square, where Raisi gave speeches in the past.People threw scarves and other items up for attendants on the truck to touch to the coffins for a blessing.In attendance were top leaders of Iran'sparamilitary Revolutionary Guard, one of the country'smajor power centers.Also on hand was Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.
Before the funeral, Haniyeh spoke and an emcee led the crowd in the chant: &Death to Israel!&&I come in the name of the Palestinian people, in the name of the resistance factions of Gaza … to express our condolences,& Haniyeh told those gathered.He also recounted meeting Raisi in Tehran during Ramadan, and heard the president say the Palestinian issue remains the key one of the Muslim world.Also expected to attend services in Tehran were Pakistan'sPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a delegation from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi.Iraq'sPrime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also flew in for the ceremony, along with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.Even Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to Tehran, despite diplomatic relations between the countries being severed after the 1979 revolution.
Egypt and Iran have recently discussed reestablishing ties.Raisi, 63, had been discussed as a possible successor for Iran'ssupreme leader, the 85-year-old Khamenei.
The only other person suggested was Khamenei's55-year-old son, Mojtaba.However, concerns have been raised over the position going to a family member, particularly after the revolution overthrew the hereditary Pahlavi monarchy of the shah.
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