Iranian President´s body to be buried on Thursday in Mashhad

Iranian Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri said on Monday that the body of President Ebrahim Raisi would be buried on Thursday in the northeastern city of Mashhad, reported Xinhua.

He made the remarks while elaborating on the planned measures for the holding of the mourning ceremonies of Raisi and members of his accompanying team, who all died in a helicopter crash in the East Azarbaijan Province on Sunday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

He noted that in view of the frequent requests by people in different provinces for attending the mourning ceremonies, the Iranian Education Ministry had canceled all students' exams from Tuesday to Friday, adding nationwide closure had been announced for Wednesday to better hold the mourning ceremonies.

The funeral ceremonies would be held for Raisi in Tabriz, Qom, the capital Tehran, Birjand and Mashhad from Tuesday to Thursday, and the president's body would be buried in the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad on Thursday night.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Monday declared five days of national mourning over the incident, according to a statement published on his website.

On Monday afternoon, a large number of people gathered in Tehran, mourning the tragic deaths of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Governor of East Azarbaijan Province Malek Rahmati and Iran's supreme leader's representative to East Azerbaijan Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem.

The crash occurred on Sunday in Varzaqan County as Raisi, along with his accompanying team on board three helicopters, was on his way from Khoda Afarin County, where he had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam along with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev earlier in the day, to the provincial capital Tabriz. The members onboard Raisi's helicopter lost their lives.

Meanwhile, members of the UN Security Council on Monday observed a minute of silence to mourn the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other passengers in Sunday's helicopter crash.

At the beginning of a Security Council meeting on Monday morning, Mozambique's UN ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, who chaired the meeting, asked all those present in the Security Council chamber to stand and observe a minute of silence for the tragic loss of life and to present condolences and sympathy to their families and to the people of Iran.

He said the minute of silence was requested by Russia, China, and Algeria.

Meanwhile, Iran's government decided on Monday that the country's 14th presidential election would be held on June 28, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The election date was determined in a meeting attended by Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, currently assuming the presidency, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, as well as Vice President for Legal Affairs Mohammad Dehqan and representatives of the Iranian Constitutional Council and Interior Ministry, the report said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and some members of his accompanying team, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, were confirmed dead Monday morning as the wreckage of the helicopter carrying them was found following its crash in bad weather on Sunday near Varzaqan County, some 670 km away from Tehran.

According to Article 131 of Iran's Constitution, the first vice president will take the helm of the executive branch if the president is unable to perform duties. Also, the interim president is duty-bound to make arrangements for the election of a new president within a maximum of 50 days.

During the meeting, the participants also set the schedule for the election processes, including the formation of executive delegations, the registration of candidates, and the launch of electoral campaigns, according to IRNA.

Based on the schedule, the registration would be conducted from May 30 to June 3, following which candidates would have to conduct electoral campaigns from June 12 to 27, the report said.

According to IRNA, the Constitutional Council has initially consented to the schedule.