Mourners pack Iranian city for Raisi burial

STORY: Thousands of mourners packed the streets of Mashhad on Thursday (May 23) for the funeral of Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi.

The ceremony in Raisi's hometown took place four days after he was killed in a helicopter crash along with foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others.

He was laid to rest at the gold-domed Imam Reza shrine, the holiest Islamic site in Iran.

Raisi's coffin was flown to Mashhad in northeast Iran, where it was welcomed by a guard of honor, after a procession was held for him on Thursday morning in the eastern city of Birjand.

Thousands there paid their respects as his remains were driven through the streets in a motorcade.

:: May 20, 2024

Eight passengers and crew died when Raisi's helicopter crashed in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border.

Iran proclaimed five days of mourning for Raisi, who enacted the hardline policies of his mentor Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- aimed at entrenching clerical power, cracking down on opponents, and adopting a tough line on foreign policy issues such as nuclear talks with Washington to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear pact.

63-year-old Raisi was widely seen as a candidate to succeed 85-year-old Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran.

The country has installed an interim president until the upcoming election, scheduled for June 28.